Dance Class
by Kuyomi
Summary: Boa Hancock is the last person Roronoa Zoro wants to get to know, but after she stayed behind after Dance class Zoro found out a little secret she is willing to kill for. Hancock/Zoro - Sensitivity Warning - Contains Rape and Other Issues
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece… but it is amazing :D **

**Rating: I'm making it M for now because I'm not sure if I'm going to make it graphic or not… but please do enjoy. **

**If you don't like the pairing please don't read… It's Boa Hancock/Roronoa Zoro**

**Also this is AU: Alternate Universe so it isn't in the world of One Piece but kinda in our world? :D I hope you enjoy.. Please leave reviews! **

Chapter one

Roronoa Zoro sat quietly in the room with his friends from the Dojo all chatting about utter nonsense. He didn't feel a need to intervene in the conversation. It was interesting enough to just listen to them. Beer was passed around and Zoro gladly accepted his third without words, taking big gulps. Women were slowly filing into the room keeping his buddies occupied. Zoro talked to no one really unless he was sought out by the women. He didn't really care either way.

Zoro stayed silent as he started recognizing the people arriving that weren't from his Dojo. For example the red headed girl Nami arrived with that other girl he knew, Robin. They laughed and giggled with the guys before moving on to other guys. It really was amusing to watch.

_Women… _Zoro thought watching the whole fiasco take place. Slowly the little get together turned into a full blown party. More drinks were being passed around. More people arrived.

Zoro quickly recognized Ace arriving with his little brother Luffy. Zoro smiled. Even though they were adopted brothers, they still resembled each other immensely, especially in clothing style. With their shorts and vests that they always wore, not to mention they both had trademark hats, though Zoro couldn't really talk with his trade mark bandanna.

Music started playing and Zoro vaguely recognized laughs of people who had obviously arrived at the party. Zoro smirked when he saw blonde hair flit around the room, Sanji. The perverted guy who loves to cook. He was embarrassed to say they were both Juniors together.

Zoro got up and made his way to the kitchen his thirst for booze strong enough to get him out of his comfortable chair. In the kitchen things were pretty much the same. Everyone was drinking, laughing, sometimes even singing. The kissing couples were easily ignored, since there were so many of them but sometimes Zoro would grunt loudly if they disturbed him, causing them to scatter away as if caught in the act.

_If you didn't want people to watch then go do it somewhere else! _Thought Zoro to himself picking up another bottle of beer.

Zoro kept at it for most of the night, drinking without really talking to people. It was what he was like. He didn't want to be part of that crowd but he enjoyed the free alcohol so he would always show up, not to mention women would relieve his… _tension, _plus his Dojo buddies wouldn't let him not come. He didn't have much of a choice so he decided not to complain.

Zoro happily chatted to whoever felt the need to engage in a conversation but otherwise he kept quiet. He enjoyed watching. The party had gotten really busy and people had already started pairing off.

"Boa Hancock and her sisters haven't arrived yet…" a voice said from next to Zoro

He turned and noticed it was one of the new members of his Dojo. A nice guy named Jack.

"Oh? Who is that?" Zoro asked without showing to much interest. Women showed interest in him, he didn't make it a habit to show any back. Swordsmanship was his only passion.

Jack turned and stared at Zoro with astonishment.

"You don't… know who she is?" he asked slowly as if Zoro was going to remember at any second.

Zoro merely shrugged and took another gulp from his drink.

"Never heard of her…" He then said as if his shrug wasn't clear enough.

"Wow, you have not lived! She is in the year above us; people say she is the most beautiful in the school… I don't understand how you haven't noticed her? She is in the dance class that uses the Dojo before us…"

Zoro merely shrugged again not really listening.

"She is gorgeous man! What I wouldn't do…" Jack trailed on before Zoro stopped listening completely. He didn't care.

After some time Zoro realized Jack had stopped talking and was staring dumbfounded ahead of him. Zoro followed his gaze to three women walking through the door. The girl in the middle was Boa Hancock no doubt. She had long dark hair with huge golden earrings. She wore a long black coat to her ankles with dark tight jeans with a red top that revealed much of her mid drift and her chest. She was gorgeous yes, but he wasn't one to usually notice. Next to her, Zoro guessed were her sisters, pretty but not much in comparison with the oldest sister.

Zoro shrugged again, she was pretty but he didn't really care, he just went back to his bottle.

Boa Hancock on the other hand grunted at the party she didn't want to be at, however her sisters had begged to go so Boa Hancock complied, plus Luffy was going to be there so she wouldn't miss the chance to see him again.

Hancock scanned the room and immediately spotted him, Luffy. The only man who she doted on. She made her way to him with a smile but he hadn't noticed her thus without knowing he made his way in the opposite direction forcing an embarrassed blush onto Hancock's face. She gave up trying for the night.

Zoro had seen this all happen and without really thinking let out a loud obnoxious laugh.

"What are you doing?" Jack started, clearly panic stricken, and then continued.

"She likes him… Oh no! Look at her! She is going to kill you!" Hancock's eyes clouded over as she located the area where the laughter had come from.

Slowly and with ease Hancock made her way over to the swordsman. She grabbed a drink and without a word faced off with Zoro.

"Is there something you want?" Zoro asked nonchalantly seeing Hancock's beauty up close.

Hancock didn't say anything but merely smiled as she poured the drink down Zoro's crotch.

"What the fuck bitch?" Zoro practically yelled.

Hancock didn't reply and just walked away and took herself up to being propped up against a wall and like Zoro not really talking to anybody. She merely watched her sisters like a hawk.

"Told you so…" Jack whispered when Hancock was out of hearing.

"Why would anyone like her? She is a bitch!" Zoro hissed back watching her angrily, she acted like it hadn't even happened which angered Zoro even more.

"But she is beautiful…" Jack replied with a shrug of his own.

For the rest of the night Zoro drank, watched the party then watched Hancock. She hadn't moved from her spot at all.

_Why is she even here? _Zoro thought to himself as he watched her pull out her phone, and then summon her sisters over. After only about a second they were gone without saying a word to anybody.

_Did I see her panic for a second? _Zoro thought but quickly discarded the idea.

_What do I care? _

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur and consisted of Jack yelling at Zoro for ruining his chances on being able to talk to Hancock… more nonsense.

**Thank you for reading chapter one 8D I hope you like it thus far… it's only starting so I hope you continue reading! **

**Senior: Final year**

**Junior: Year before final year**

**Just to clarify! **

**Thank you again! **


	2. Chapter 2

**And here we are at chapter two! Thank you for reading this far! Enjoy**

**I warn you if you are sensitive to certain things that cause angst then don't read this chapter. Things like abuse, and rape are present… I need to warn you even if I wanted it to stay a surprise D: **

**Also this chapter really resembles another one I have read though I would like you to know I did not copy. I tried to keep it as separate from that chapter as possible but it was hard. Still its fanfiction…**

**Check that person out! It's called Trust, it's a Zoro Sanji fic by LucyNyy, She is awesome ^w^ **

Chapter Two

Boa Hancock arrived back home in an instant. Her sisters against the idea of leaving so early but in the end gave in to her persuasion. They didn't understand why but they accepted it and quickly went to their respective rooms like Hancock had asked them to. Of course their mother was surprised to see them back so quickly since she had permitted them to go, but their stepfather was not, even if he tried to feign innocence.

He gave Hancock and knowing nod and exited the room. Hancock said goodnight to her mother and also exited the room, making her way to her own bedroom. She walked in and behind her the door was closed by the second person in her room. Her stepfather.

"Did you enjoy the party?" His disgusting voice whispered hoarsely in the room.

Hancock didn't say anything and slipped off her jacket and threw it to the side of the room. She felt things went easier if she just didn't say anything. The man didn't need to know how weak she was.

"Like promised, I will stay off your sisters, that is what you want right?" He asked. Hancock could hear the smile in his voice so again she said nothing, he already knew the answer anyway.

"You're late. Even after I gave you so much freedom" He said again, this time advancing on her, pushing her hands on the bed. His own hands already roaming around under her shirt.

Hancock bit her lip from letting out an angry sob the tears already streaming down her face.

"Hush, hush… you need to be quiet darling… don't want mother to find you seducing me, now do you? I mean really, you are such a naughty girl!" With that he opened the drawer and pulled out the blood encrusted whip.

"Do I need to remind you of your place again?"

Hancock started to shake her head frantically but the lashes came anyway, even through her shirt she felt the pain sting on her not even fully healed skin. This had been going on for two years now, as soon as Hancock had turned sixteen her step father had started to come to her room, almost every night. Her mother had no idea but she couldn't tell or he would go a after her sisters. She didn't have a choice.

Eighteen lashes each time he felt like it, every year he would add another one for her birthday. The frequency luckily lessoned however he was rougher, so no real drastic change there.

"Let's make this quick and not have mother worry!"

Hancock bit down on her lip again, hot blood flowing into her mouth. This was the only thing she could do to keep herself from sobbing and alerting the house. Her shirt was probably also ruined by now. Great…

Her stepfather lent into her, Hancock could feel his pulsing member through her jeans as her unbuckled her belt and yanked down her clothes. Without warning he shoved himself into her trusting at a horrible speed. It was like sand paper to her, though eventually it would slide better because against her wishes her body enjoyed him. Maybe not at first but eventually over the two years her body grew accustomed to him and started to enjoy his penetration.

Her stepfather chuckled as he felt her get wet from him.

"You really are a dirty girl aren't you?"

Another lash from the whip

"You enjoy this; you can't even hide it you little bitch"

Another lash.

He wasn't gentle as his trusts got harder making her whole body jolt. His hands sliding under her bra and caressing her nipples roughly. She bit down on her lip harder willing her eyes to stop streaming but they would not. She hated this, more than anything, still her body betrayed her.

"I..I'm coming…" Hancock gasped out with self-loathing pity as she was slowly started to reach her climax.

"Then come you little fucking bitch!" He himself gasped out with a smile in his voice. He pushed Hancock's head into the bed roughly as he rocked his body into her roughly. Hancock's knees buckled and she felt like she was going to collapse forward at his thrusts but he held her up and occasionally whipped her some more.

"Fucking whore" He spat out as he was starting to climax, using what was his version of dirty talk.

_Sadistic prick! _Thought Hancock waiting for the disgusting bastard to leave. Once done, he pulled out and pushed her onto the bed, her trousers at her ankles and her shirt in tatters.

"You act as if you don't like it, but if you really didn't, you wouldn't want to keep me all to yourself!" He laughed at her hoarsely his hands covered in blood from her back, his penis covered in semen, yet he still acted as if it was all her doing.

He pulled up his trousers and exited her room, locking the door behind him so he could take a shower.

He always locked her door. She could unlock it herself from the inside but it was a precaution for no one to walk in on her covered in his blood and semen, and there she stayed hugging her knees to her tightly rocking herself waiting for the pain go away.

Hancock may have dozed off, she wasn't entirely sure but everything still hurt as she managed to crawl out of bed in the morning. Next to her were birth control pills with water and she was at least wearing her underwear again. He did that, he didn't want children but him pulling up her underwear confused her, at least he had some compassion.

Hancock took the pills silently and made her way to her backroom, locking the door behind her to make sure the prick didn't decide for a second round.

She checked herself out in the mirror. Nothing really noticeable on the front, just her lip but that was easily covered with some red lipstick. Her back of course was a horrible mess, but it always was. She knew to always keep her back hidden. The scars would ever leave either way and her giant burn mark was already enough to get questions. She always changed alone, she was able to keep it a secret thus far, even from her sisters who suspected something but knew never to ask.

The burn mark… the first offence from that bastard. His way of marking her as his. His methods could have been better. Her stepfather had taken a big hot pan and merely pressed it against her back the first time she was left alone with him. Since then she had accumulated so many scars that she had lost count.

Hancock stepped into the shower and thought about nothing, something she practiced. It helped her cope. She washed away the semen and blood and stepped back out.

Her shirt was the first thing she put on, tight and showing off her mid drift slightly but not her back. She dressed like this before, she couldn't exactly change her style rapidly people would notice but she had grown accustomed to wearing very long coats just in case. No one questioned them. If that wasn't enough she kept her hair long to cover it up just in case, though her stepfather was nice enough to leave the scars at the top of her back.

Hancock added red lipstick to her lips to hide her scabs and exited the door trying to act normal. Not very difficult since it was such a common occurrence anyway.

At the breakfast table everyone chatted away casually about the day. Her mother asking all sorts of innocent questions. She knew nothing about what was happening to her daughter but Hancock hated her anyway, for not noticing that she married a monster and the horror that was befalling her first daughter. The same horror that would befall her other daughters had Hancock promised never to tell and allow him to take her without resistance.

She couldn't resent her sisters for it but sometimes she wish they would notice so that her mother could kick the prick out. Though then he would kill them like he had threatened. No way out.

In silence Hancock ate her food and then left for school with her sisters. Before leaving however she stated.

"I'll be late tonight, I have dance!" Her mother nodded cheerfully but her stepfather said nothing. She wasn't forbidden but he was very controlling on when she should be home, merely looking for any excuse to "punish" her.

She knew that when she got home he would whip her again, or even worse but she loved to dance, it was her way of fighting him.

**Thank you for reading this. I know it's kinda sad . But now you know how she gets her scars! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Gosh you guys with your reviews were so awesome! I hope the rape scene didn't disturb you too much? **

**8D LOVE ME! **

**I believe this is really the only thing that can explain Hancock, like the slavery in the actual story… but that isn't exactly common in the real world, so… she is a sex slave .**

Chapter Three

Everything went back to normal at school. Parties weren't unusual and neither were the hook ups or other things that had happened. What was new to Zoro at least was being the one with the wet crotch, rather than the woman.

Zoro roamed the halls in his usual attire of black jeans and a random white top. His bandanna tied to his arm today rather than on his head covering his green hair. He went about his day, his presence scaring the younger students… mostly. Not Luffy but that guy was cool so Zoro didn't really mind. Ace waved to Zoro as he made his way over. They had some general chitchat but overall Zoro's mind was elsewhere.

Now that Zoro knew who Hancock was, he noticed her. She was on their side of the building a lot. He noticed that the reasons she was there could be narrowed down to two things. Her sisters, and Luffy. Zoro gritted his teeth as he noticed her long black flitted past him.

_Damn bitch is back again? _

Zoro purposely walked the other direction and braved being late to his lesson. Again this was nothing new for him so no one paid him any mind. He had to admit he was a horrible student; he barely scraped by with the grades he got. The dojo was the only reason he went to school anyway. He would carry his swords to school if he would be allowed. It wouldn't be…

Ace and Zoro spent the rest of the class chatting quietly about nothing in particular again. Ace brought up Hancock and the wet crotch incident. Zoro said nothing except that he hated her.

It annoyed him how everyone was supposedly in love with the girl. She had a horrible attitude and only doted on Luffy, so they didn't have a chance anyway. Ace laughed at the mention of this. He agreed it was true but Luffy hardly even noticed her, most guys figured she would need a shoulder to cry on at some point and then they would have her.

The day went by quickly and Zoro slowly made his way to the Dojo. He knew that he didn't have practice till late but he really didn't have anything better to do.

Not very long after the Dojo came into view, however a big crowd blocked his view of the doors.

"What is going on?" Zoro asked in general.

Jack turned and waved Zoro over pointing into the Dojo.

"Hancock is dancing, she is demonstrating to the rest of the class, come look!"

Zoro grunted angrily, he didn't want to watch but Jack pulled him over anyway and forced him to look.

In the middle of the room stood Hancock wearing short black shorts and a plain white top that showed her mid drift off. Over that she wore a sleeveless hoodie that went down under _ass. _Her long hair tied up into a high pony tail. Zoro wasn't really sure what was going on but Hancock moved as if a snake. Her body moving and twirling to the music. At some points it looked like she was fighting someone using her legs to kick the air ferociously, at other points she looked as if she was swimming, elegant.

Zoro grunted. He didn't care about her dancing, even if she was good at it. He just wanted to get to his lesson and let all this pent up anger go!

Once done, an out of breath Hancock glanced up and noticed the crowd she attracted. She smirked, guys were all the same. Then she noticed the swordsmen from the night before, her smirk more prominent now.

Zoro saw this and immediately his temper exploded at the annoying woman. She thought she was better than him just because he watched her dance! He wanted to kill her!

In his own anger Zoro hadn't noticed that the dance class started to clear up and left for the changing rooms. He himself exited the room to get ready. Once he returned the dojo was ready to be used for what it was made for, sword fighting. Most of the girls were already gone but a few lingered at the doors, chatting or even just hoping to watch some of the guys. Against the wall near the door lent Hancock still fully clothed in her dancewear. It looked like she had not intention of leaving at any moment and was merely texting casually on her phone. Zoro didn't really have a chance to say anything and was dragged into his lesson forgetting completely about the girl.

Half way through the class Hancock left for the changing rooms. She came out clothed in what she wore during the day and left without saying anything. He never really noticed this before but when he asked, Jack explained that she had always done this. No one knew why. She always left when all the girls were gone, and the guys were too busy in their lesson to notice her.

"Thanks for all the hard work!" Zoro exclaimed at the end of the class to his dojo buddies and sensei. He grabbed a towel from the side and wiped himself clean before leaving for the changing rooms. The chat in the room was mostly about their last lesson and even about the dancing lesson. Sometimes someone would reference last night's party and how some people didn't even come to school due to a hang over. Others talked about their hook ups. Zoro said nothing; there wasn't much to say. He only ever went for the booze anyway.

Things went the same for the next few weeks. Zoro noticed Hancock a lot now. She seemed to always be around. Her advances on Luffy were embarrassing but she never persisted too much. She would always stay back after dance and then leave half way through his lesson. He still couldn't figure it out. She was probably self-conscious like most women were and didn't want to change around everyone.

Without really noticing, Zoro had started to arrive to the dojo early everyday just to watch their class. Hancock was easily the best dancer in the class, she was the only who looked as if she was trying to fight for her life. She would get so tired every time she would dance because it was obvious she put her all into it. Zoro respected her for that but he still didn't like her, she had a nasty attitude, especially towards men. She had made it a bad habit of being mean to the freshmen men but whenever someone got angry about it she would ask for forgiveness and just get it!

It seemed because he already didn't like her, anything she did pissed him off greatly. It didn't matter though, he didn't care, she was just another woman in the school. What she did was up to her.

"Are you starting to like her?" Jack asked from next to Zoro.

Zoro looked at Jack wide-eyed.

"What? No! Of course not, she is a stupid bitch" Zoro exclaimed looking away. He wasn't starting to like her, he didn't even know her, but he did enjoy watching her dance, as much as he didn't want to admit to that either, but he felt like she was mesmerizing. She moved her body in ways…. That was provoking.

"Whatever you say… I don't believe you for a second but you ignore what your feeling, more chances for me!"

Zoro grunted at him saying nothing. He just wanted to get to his lesson again. Like usual Hancock stayed behind. Sometimes he caught her watching the class. Other times she did something on her phone. She never smiled when her phone, she was always serious, sometimes panicked.

_Who is she texting?_

Zoro wondered to himself, but a kick to the face from his sensei brought him back to the lesson. When he looked again she had gone, probably in the changing rooms. He really didn't understand her at all.

The days seemed to go like this. They never spoke. Zoro was intrigued by her but was also convinced that he hated her, with a passion.

Hancock on the other hand didn't really notice him. She went about her business. Dance being the only thing keeping her together. She would stay behind so she could change in peace but also so then she didn't need to go home right away. During the day she just changed in a cubicle rather than with people but she preferred to change in the changing area because there was more room. Her sisters seemed distant lately but Hancock kept close watch on them. That and surviving the clutches of her stepfather, dance was the only thing keeping her alive. The only place she could be herself and fight against everything. Her dance teacher mentioned that she sometimes looked like she was fighting for her life, and she was. She was fighting the only way she knew how.

She sometimes noticed him, Zoro in the hallway, but to her he was the guy who laughed at her at a stupid party she didn't even want to go to, but he was also the guy who was always so serious in the dojo. She couldn't believe they were the same people.

Hancock roamed the halls passing time before her dance class and was stopped by Luffy's older brother. His usual smile on his face, she smiled back knowing he was Luffy's brother.

"Hello ma'am" He said in his playful tone. He wore his usual trademark hat with yellow button up shirt. However he seemed to always "forget" to button it up and always "forgot" his well sculpted chest was on show for all women to see.

"Hello" Hancock replied with disdain, even as Luffy's brother a smile was all he would get.

Ace leaned against the lockers directly on his right. He obviously checked Hancock out and smiled wider. He did think she really was beautiful, it surprised him his brother didn't claim her since he seemed the only man in the entire school with half a chance. If he didn't, Ace would.

"Are you busy this weekend?"

Hancock cocked her head to the side.

"Depends…" Hancock said carefully already catching on to what he was getting at. She would turn him down. A party meant her stepfather was… rougher. Plus she didn't enjoy them at all, but… her sisters would really want to go.

"Well, as you probably already guessed, I'm having a party ma'am!" He let out his charming smile again tipping his hat to Hancock then going on.

"Actually me and _Luffy_, are having a party, and he really wants you to come"

Hancock seemed to skip in her spot at the mention of Luffy's name, Ace smiled purposefully emphasizing his name.

"Luffy wants me, to come?"

Ace nodded finding the blushing Hancock very cute.

_Lucky bastard._ He thought as he watched Hancock attempt to come to an answer.

"Yes, we shall go, my sisters and I" Hancock smiled happily "But if you'll excuse me I'm late to dance" Hancock practically skipped away from Ace and made her way to the dojo pushing past the crowd at the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**OOH it's all so exciting! :D They hate each other . **

**Enjoy please ^w^ by the way another warning for references/ rape sexytimes so if you couldn't handle the last chapter then don't read the fic D: **

Chapter Four

It was no problem being allowed to the party. Though Hancock knew she would pay for this when she got home. She didn't regret her decision however, she couldn't let the bastard control her life completely and her sisters seemed so happy when she mentioned it.

She wore similar clothing as like the other party a couple of weeks ago. Tight jeans with heels and a mid-drift top. Of course she wore her hair down and her long cloak like coat. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Hancock looked around and spotted Luffy by the food. She smiled and made her way over allowing her sisters to roam about the room. He seemed preoccupied but Hancock smiled and attempted a conversation with him. She couldn't really understand why she liked him so much. He didn't really know her but he was the first man never to really show an interest in her as a woman, this was new for her and she liked it. She had nothing but trouble with men so having Luffy feel indifferent about her looks was amazing! She met him because he was in the same grade as her sisters. He stood up for them when they were in trouble, she wasn't sure but that was probably when her feelings started.

Luffy continued eating but smiled when he saw her arrive.

"Hammock!" He exclaimed through mouthfuls. Hancock's blush from hearing her name, even if it was wrong was unmistakable yet Luffy still missed it.

"Hello Luffy" She smiled brightly at him and wiped a crumb from his face. He laughed and gulped down his food.

"You're so great Hancock! You are like a big sister!"

It felt like the whole world suddenly stood still. Hancock knew he didn't feel the same way back but at least she still had a chance. Now it seemed like all of her chance was gone. He saw her like a sister… and Hancock thought incest was disgusting.

Hancock forced a smile onto her face.

"Yup! And you are like a little brother to me." With that she excused herself. She hadn't given up on him yet. Of course she hadn't given up; feelings don't just turn off like that. However she didn't want to force her feelings on Luffy and push him away. Forcing someone to do something was the last thing she wanted to do after all she had been through.

Hancock roamed the room and in the end decided to take up a space against the wall. Pulling out her phone to check if she got any more annoying text messages. She frowned, four messages.

One of her conditions to being allowed out at the party was to reply to his obnoxious text messages. The only reason she had the phone was so he could contact her. Usually dirty messages where he exclaimed what a whore she was.

_I can't wait till you get home  
>I will make you scream<em>

_You dirty whore, you are probably  
>counting down the minutes till you're<br>home with me inside you._

_You are taking your time? You know,  
>the longer you take… the longer I take.<em>

_Dirty bitch, you are doing this on purpose  
>so that I take longer, guess you really want me<br>then huh?_

Hancock cringed at the messages and decided not to reply. It wouldn't change anything. He knew she read them. That was sure enough.

Zoro was across the room with a beer in his lap and noticed Hancock visibly and rather obviously cringe at something on her phone. He noted that this was usually the case. Whatever she keeps reading on her phone wasn't pleasant he was sure. He turned away, if everything was so bad she shouldn't have come to the party, it wasn't his problem she was a bitch, she probably deserved it anyway. Zoro probably resented her because it seemed like she was flawless.

Zoro on the other hand was not, but he didn't care. It was his own business. He would do what he wanted, which was to sword fight. That was all he ever needed except for the occasional… joining of bodies to relieve the stress his fighting could not.

Zoro looked around the party. It seemed exactly like the party a couple of weeks before, however his crotch was dry. He looked around a spotted several things that were the same. Nami and Robin talking to guys. Luffy stuffing his face. Ace talking to Hancock… wait… that wasn't the same! Zoro stared astonished at Ace chatting to Hancock in a friendly manner. She chatted back but Zoro couldn't tell whether she wanted to. Ace leant against the wall next to her and pointed out different people. They were probably talking about the party.

Zoro looked away, he didn't care. Or at least he didn't think he cared. If he did it was because Ace was his best friend. He didn't want to see the bitch destroy him. She probably played with men all the time and threw them away. She definitely looked like the type to use men.

Zoro tuned them out. He couldn't tell Ace what to do anyway. He took a couple gulps of his drink, he felt bored and wasn't really sure whether to stay, even if he was supposed to stay the night since he already drank too much to drive home. Next to him was a girl with long pink hair. He remembered her. She was with his Sensei Mihawk a lot. Something about them living with each other. She wasn't a student at the school but he did know a lot of the dojo people liked her, thus Ace probably invited her because of that.

"Hey cutie" She said with a smile, her hair up in two big pigtails. She also wore mid drift top. He was really starting to hate them; they were worn by too many sluts.

"Hey" He said back taking another big gulp of his drink.

The girl, Perona as Zoro could remember scooted closer giving Zoro a view down her top. He didn't complain. They weren't huge but they would do. He smiled; he had gotten advances from women enough to understand what the woman meant.

"It's getting a little crowded down here isn't it?" Perona winked getting up from her seat, pulling her skirt down casually where it was supposed to be, it seemed to have come up whilst she was sitting.

Zoro nodded and smiled back and also proceeded to getting up. He was probably always so grumpy because he hadn't gotten any in some time. Tonight was his lucky night. Zoro checked Perona out again, she was tall and lean but was overall not a bad looker, and from the sounds of things, she wasn't new to this either. He followed her up the stairs and into one of the guest rooms.

Hancock on the other hand was getting anxious. Her sisters seemed to be having fun with school friends but she really couldn't stay forever. Ace was constantly talking but she wasn't exactly sure about what. She had stopped listening to him and checked the new texts that seemed to come in every second. They were getting progressively harsher.

"Are you alright Hancock-san? You look a little pale..." Ace said

Hancock skipped in her spot again realizing she wasn't hiding her distaste is her text messages.

"Oh, yes I'm fine. I would like a glass of water though" She said waiting for Ace to realize and get her one. He nodded after a while and promised to be quick. She waited and scanned the room. Luffy was talking to Nami, they seemed good friends. Hancock couldn't help but feel a little jealous but maybe he also saw her as a sister. Her hopes of that were quickly shattered when Luffy leant forward and kissed Nami passionately. Nami was surprised but after some time she kissed him back.

Hancock stared shocked and hurt at the display. She knew all along but she didn't want to see it thrown into her face like that. People who witnessed their display turned to Hancock, they knew how she felt and were hoping to see the beauty cry. She would not give the disgusting pigs that pleasure.

Hancock pulled out her phone and scrolled through her new messages. That man was persistent. Ace came back quickly with the water and Hancock downed it.

"Is there any more booze?" Hancock asked cocking her head.

Ace looked genuinely surprised at her question but after a while smiled and was about to guide her to the kitchen. At first he wasn't sure what was wrong, but he then noticed Luffy and a blushing Nami.

He took her away from the living room and supplied her with drinks that weren't too strong for her.

"I'll drink with you" He said smiling again. He didn't want to take advantage of her like this, but it was a good chance to get to know her.

Hancock nodded sipping at her drink. It didn't taste all that bad, the drink however did burn the back of her throat. She liked it though.

Hancock was too busy to notice but upstairs Zoro was also doing something he didn't really think through.

Zoro had taken the initiative and kissed Perona but after that nothing seemed to happen. He wasn't turning on. He assumed he needed more. Slowly, Zoro pulled Perona's annoying mid-drift top off and noted that they were average size before unclipping her bra and making sure with more than just his eyes.

This wouldn't be the first time he disappeared from the party for a different kind of fun but for once it felt forced on his part.

Downstairs Hancock was starting to feel better chatting to Ace in the kitchen but all she really wanted to do was go home and cry. She wouldn't show anyone here her weakness. At home however someone was waiting for her, and she didn't want to show him her weakness either.

Her sisters still didn't seem to want to leave. Hancock looked around deliberately avoiding looking at Luffy. She spotted one sister, but not the other. She excused herself from Ace and told Sandersonia that they were leaving and to look for Marigold. Hancock went upstairs in search of her sister.

Upstairs Zoro, lying topless on the random bed was kissing Perona passionately; slowly he was starting to get in the mood. The problem was she really wasn't his type. He enjoyed woman with more… assets, plus he liked long dark hair.

Hancock was on the other side of the door about to knock. She thought maybe whomever was inside may know where her sister was. She thought against it and decided to look elsewhere. The person or people inside probably didn't want to be disturbed.

The door however opened and suddenly a shocked Zoro and Hancock stared at each other for what seemed like too long. Zoro smirked.

"What are you doing up here?"

Hancock didn't say anything while she composed herself.

"Don't get your hopes up. I was looking for my sister, but it's nice to see you are cheap enough to go to bed with anyone" At that Hancock plastered on her own common smirk.

Zoro's smirk seemed to peel off too quickly replaced by an angry scowl.

"Why would I get my hopes up? You're just a stupid bitch!" Zoro hissed at her.

Hancock nodded and left her smirk still intact. And by god he felt he wanted to kill her! He had changed his mind about being with Perona but he really didn't expect to come face to face with Hancock who was supposed to be with Ace right now. He lifted a hand to his head and ran it through his hair with a deep sigh. He really didn't understand anything. He knew Hancock hated men so this probably didn't help the case at all, probably because everyman wanted to be with her.

Zoro was right; Hancock wasn't surprised to see that it was a man with a slut. However she cared less than one would think. She expected this, the only man who she didn't expect it from was Luffy, and that seemed to have changed now that he proved her expectations wrong.

Marigold was found shortly after and Hancock made a beeline for the door only to be intercepted by Ace.

"Why in such a hurry" He said with his usual smile that was starting to annoy her.

"I need to go, please move" Ace didn't seem to have any intentions of getting out of the way. In the meantime Marigold and Sandersonia made their way outside feeling it was best to leave Hancock to say goodbye to her… friend.

"Please move" Hancock said again, visibly more annoyed this time.

Zoro made his way downstairs and spotted Ace with his gleaming teeth at the door. Later he noticed Hancock. Ace and Hancock were talking, of course Zoro couldn't hear them since that was physically impossible but it looked like Hancock was panicking slightly.

"Why are you leaving so early? If it's because of time and not wanting to drive late… you could always stay here?" Ace thought she was beautiful yes, but he wasn't that desperate to force her to stay over for him. No, he did this because it would be amusing to see Zoro get angry about it, maybe Luffy would see the error of his ways but if in the end she did come to him, well, he wouldn't complain.

Hancock gritted her teeth. She didn't want to spit in his face metaphorically after the hospitality she had been given. However she wanted to leave and the longer she took to get home the more lashes from the whip she would get.

Hancock had enough; she pushed passed Ace forcefully and jogged out the door. Zoro watched as a surprised Ace let Hancock go. She made her way to her car and then she was gone. Zoro had come downstairs to try to maybe clear the air about the misunderstanding with Perona but he didn't get a chance. He grunted to his thought and convinced himself it didn't matter because they hated each other anyway. Zoro turned and went back upstairs. She thought it had happened anyway and Zoro was even more stressed than before. Zoro entered the room where Perona was still in and pushed himself back on top of her. No words were exchanged.

Hancock made her way home quickly. She told her sisters to be quiet because their mother was asleep. Secretly she was hoping her step father was asleep as well, but that was most likely not the case. Hancock snuck into the house. The lights were off. There was a chance everyone had gone to bed.

Hancock creeped into her room shutting the door behind her. Everything seemed alright. It seemed her stepfather had gone to bed.

"You're very late"

Never mind. She had assumed wrong.

Hancock let out a sigh and turned to what could not be avoided. She made her way over to her bed and sat down quietly. She wasn't in the mood to fight back; she just wanted to go to sleep.

"That's a good girl" he whispered in her ear sending disgusting shivers down her spine that he would have interpreted differently as he pushed her down to the bed. Hancock bit her lip again breaking the earlier scab quickly; the whips were over quickly, since he was feeling compassionate today.

Once he was gone Hancock wailed silently into her pillow about Luffy and her stepfather, shaking despite the warmth. Hancock completely let herself go and fell asleep sometime through her crying. She had thought she was strong enough that her stepfather could no longer faze her but it felt like each he took her was the very first time.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The days seemed to stretch on endlessly. Dance was suspended for four days due to circumstances Hancock wasn't bothered to find out. She went home everyday with her sisters but time just seemed to slow down. She no longer had her outlet. She was really happy to be going back to the dojo on this day even if she had to see that green haired pig.

Zoro had noticed that the dance class was no longer in action and he refused to admit he missed watching it. He really had nothing to do before his sensei arrived and watching the girls' dance was nice. He was a man after all. Hancock knew how to dance and whilst she was doing so it seemed it was the only time he could actually stand her. Zoro made his way down the halls unsure if he wanted to go to the dojo early. He wasn't sure if dance was back on or if any of his friends were there. He decided to go anyway and to his luck there was a big crowd from his dojo and the usual music from dance was playing.

Hancock made her way to her class from the changing rooms happy to be back and give it her all. Her back stung from her fresh wounds from the night before. Her stepfather had been very violent and he had reopened old scabs making her skin feel very tender, even stretching send jabs of pain through her body. Her stepfather felt that she had been very cold to him lately thus he wanted to punish her for this, joining her in her shower even, not allowing her to escape him like she always wanted. Fast music was played as Hancock took her place in the middle of the dojo her feet parting so she stood square, surrounded by her dance mates ready to do her routine. Her long sleeveless coat tied tightly over her hips, with this she was ready to start and give it her all. It felt as if she was surrounded by enemies to fight, each with the face of her stepfather.

Hancock moved around the room seeming more desperate than ever moving her body around fluidly as if a snake ready to make its kill. At points she was synchronized with the rest and at other times she took the centre and did something separate. Zoro stared in awe; he had forgotten how serious this woman was when it came to dancing, was this even the same person? She was getting all the steps perfectly, or so it seemed, doing her usual kicks and spins, grinding her hips in ways he didn't know was possible. Zoro watched as Hancock stretched her arms above her and winced in pain. Next thing he knew, she was lying on her floor clutching her back. The music stopped and she was helped to the side of the room, questions overtook all conversation and everyone seemed to ask what was wrong with her. She refused to say and said she was all right she just needed to rest. She allowed no one to look at her back or even touch it.

Zoro huffed; she was just being attention seeker he thought. The lesson resumed after some more fuss and Hancock sat at the side of the dojo quietly for some time staring longingly at the lesson. Half way through the lesson Hancock got back up from her position at the wall and joined the lesson again. Much to the refusal of everyone she requested the first routine again. She took things easier this time but it was easy to tell her back was bugging her. The second time around however she didn't mess up and the lesson ended with her doing the routine perfectly. She felt otherwise.

Zoro didn't know what to say to that. Hancock seemed so intent on dancing. He couldn't understand why it was so important to her, but if it was anything like how important swordsmanship was to him then he understood her slightly. Jack laughed next to Zoro saying something but Zoro wasn't listening. After a while Zoro was able to piece together what was being said, apparently Hancock looked weak right at that moment and that was very attractive. Zoro didn't think she looked weak at all and it was an insult to her. She clearly was trying to look strong and the fact that Jack said that she looked weak was really diminishing. This pissed Zoro off to no end and he clutched his fists tightly together looking only at Hancock as she brushed her hair back from her face. She was beautiful, which he refused to admit even when she was fighting pain.

Like usual the dance class left to change and go home, the rest of group also left to change. Hancock stayed and stood by the wall, not leaning on it. Zoro made his way over, for what reason he couldn't say.

"Are you alright?" He asked looking down at his hands.

Hancock had pulled out her phone and frowned at whatever she was looking at. She didn't answer for a long time and they both stood in silence. He knew it was weird for him to be talking to her at all. He looked over casually at her and accidentally caught sight of what text she was reading.

_Dirty whore. _

Zoro frowned but didn't say anything. That clearly was not a friendly message. If he knew her well, which he had to admit he didn't, he would have thought that she would retaliate

"I don't need your pity" Hancock said after a while flipping her phone shut.

Zoro grunted

"I was just being nice, or is it that we really cannot get along?"

Hancock was again very quiet, she was unsure of what to say. She knew that they didn't really know each other but it seemed like they always drove each other up the wall.

"I'm fine… thank you"

Zoro's eyes widened in surprise as she gave him her thanks. He said nothing and made his way to the changing room. He was going to get in trouble for being late.

"Zoro?" Hancock called after him. He turned.

"Don't mess up" Hancock said with a smirk.

Zoro nodded with a smile and left the room.

Hancock sunk down to a seated position careful of her scabs. She for the first time ever watched the whole class and actually watched. She saw that Zoro was completely serious and she felt he looked attractive when he concentrated. Hancock blushed and looked away fidgeting with her phone in her hands.

Hancock checked the time. Unconsciously she had stayed the whole lesson. Hancock got up to leave. It wasn't really a problem; she was the only girl so she would be alone in the changing room. There weren't any girls in the dojo. Hancock knew there had been in the past but the girl had gotten into a car accident and died. Since then girls were not accepted into the dojo. Not for sexist reasons but it was just easier this way. A separate class for female swordsman could be made however there really wasn't any interest in it.

The lesson was dismissed and Zoro noticed Hancock had only left a few seconds before them.

"Hey! Stop lusting after her!" Some guy in his group yelled at Zoro. He noticed he was staring at the door.

He huffed and said nothing. It didn't matter what he would say. If he stood up for himself they would think they were right. If he didn't they were less likely to think they were onto something. He didn't lust after her; he didn't like her at all. The only thing slightly desirable about her was her focus on dancing. Besides that she got everything handed to her on a plate. She probably never felt actual grief or made an effort for anything. She probably thought nothing bad could ever happen to her.

They made their way to the changing rooms, the door right next to the one for the girls. Jack grabbed Zoro's wrist and in an attempt to jerk his hand free he got pushed into the girls changing room. The door locked behind him.

In front of Zoro stood Hancock. Her sleeveless sweater discarded on the floor and her top right next to it, with bloodstains he couldn't place. She wasn't facing him, one would think that was a good thing, in Hancock's case it was the worst thing that could possibly ever happen. Zoro saw her. He saw the big circular burn right in the middle of her back, around it were scars, some healed some weren't. Suddenly he understood why Hancock had been in pain earlier. It was a horrible sight and not to mention slightly gruesome sight. Her back was mutilated beyond the capacity of anything that could be an accident. Long scars stretching from top to bottom were over lapped by smaller scars and vice versa. Zoro saw her back and was in genuine shock. He never would have expected it from her, Hancock being such a self assured bitch… Her scars were all he could see. Time seemed to stop as he eyed each scar and scab. Some ragged and short, some straight and long.

Time started again and before he knew it he was pressed up against the lockers his windpipe squeezed shut. He was caught off guard. The woman was strong but he was not weak either. His shock kept him stuck there for a second, the woman pressed up against him to what his mind interpreted differently then he should. She was trying to kill him! He pushed her off roughly.

"What the hell?" Zoro gasped keeping distance from the woman who had pulled her shirt back on quickly.

Hancock merely glared at Zoro trying to figure out what to do. He couldn't say anything, or her sisters…. Well that was something she had to avoid at all costs but she really wasn't someone who could kill.

"Did you see?" She demanded after some time. Staring at Zoro with as much intensity as she could muster but really she was just tired, of everything. This wasn't something she needed. If her stepfather heard about this…. Then she may be banned from dance; she would not be able to deal with that.

Zoro didn't say anything and looked at the floor. He nodded after some time and looked back at Hancock. He wasn't sure what expression to expect but that was not it. She smiled sadly and sat down quietly brushing hair back from her face.

"I need you to… I know you don't really have a reason to but… I need you to either forget you saw anything, or to never tell anyone!"

Hancock looked up pleadingly at Zoro. She really didn't want her escape to stop right then and there. Her voice seemed to shake as she did the only thing she could. She would not resort to selling her body to him.

Zoro nodded again surprised with what she was asking. He now saw her completely differently than before. She hadn't cared at all about him seeing her naked. It was the fact that he saw her back.

"You are still beautiful" Zoro said despite himself to fill the awkward silence. He ran his hand through his hair in an awkward manner acutely aware of the sound of dripping in the changing room. Every time Zoro closed his eyes he saw vividly Hancock's scarred back with the large burn mark. He still didn't understand Hancock at all but at least now he understood her a little better.

Hancock looked up with a start and stared at him, after a while her sad smile came back. She hadn't expected that to be said. She guessed he knew her a little better than she had originally thought. Her beauty was important to her. It got things done but it was also a curse, the very reason all that shit had happened to her. She watched him as he awkwardly stood there and decided he was being honest and not mocking her.

"Thank you" She said after a while.

**Dun dun dun! Enjoy! So even though he knows… doesn't mean anything is going to happen yet! I hope you like it. To be honest Zoro wouldn't try anything… . so we shall see. Hold on tight boys and girls. I hope you enjoy the story : D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello! Thank you for reading again! This chapter is significantly longer than the others because I'm working on my length… I mean I hate it when people update and it's really short you know? So let me know about the length, I mean it's not huge… I hope it is okay? Cause I also don't want it to drag on… :D Well I hope you enjoy!**

Chapter Six

Nothing changed between the two of them, or so it seemed to most people. There had been change, a lot of it. Hancock was forced to rely on Zoro to keep her secret and he would, he had enough honour to not break a promise. This created something between them that was hard to explain, they weren't friends, and definitely not lovers. However they didn't hate each other either. Zoro had seen Hancock's rare vulnerable side and decided she wasn't such a bitch after all. They didn't really talk though, things pretty much stayed the same, the only interaction they did have was those brief moments after Hancock's dance and before his lesson of swordsmanship. They would exchange brief words of "How are you?" and "Good luck".

Still even with that slight change, there relationship did no better than before. There were times they wanted to kill each other. Their attitudes were just too different from each other. Of course Zoro knew this would probably change if she would open up to him but she chose not to. Zoro was still very much in the dark about her problems but he had some form of an idea though nothing close to the truth. She became even more cautious about her back and no longer changed out in the open, she permanently used the stalls. Still even with that she stayed behind and watched the other lesson always watching but never saying anything. It became normal and the guys in the dojo liked having her there. Each felt that she was eyeing them up and that they had a chance.

After they had been released from the bathroom, no one asked what had happened. Zoro had looked a little too pissed off to approach and Hancock had run the second the door opened still wearing her dance clothes. She had chosen not to change.

On this day everything seemed normal again. No one had noticed the change in Zoro's and Hancock's attitudes towards each other, which was not a surprise seeing as the chance was very minimal. They never spoke in the halls, the dojo being the only place words were exchanged, never about the secret though. That subject was never brought up.

Zoro scaled the halls frowning at the group of people crowding his classroom. He met up with Ace and gave him a questioning twitch of the eyebrow but Ace just shrugged in confusion. He didn't know what was going on either.

After elbowing his way into the classroom Zoro noticed the brawl that had gotten out right away. Between two people he didn't know or care to learn the names of. Zoro readjusted the bandanna on his head and took a seat at the back avoiding the fight but not making it obvious. He could always hold his own against any fight but he didn't want to join in on a useless one. Zoro would stand up for what he believes in but never fight unnecessarily. Ace took his usual seat next to Zoro and watched the fight intently saying nothing.

Words were exchanged around the room and Zoro was able to pick up bits and pieces to what the fight was about. Like he would have thought, it was about girls. Which girl it was about shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did though.

"I heard this is about which one gets to _fuck_ Hancock," someone said from across the room with obvious mockery in his voice.

Zoro gritted his teeth. A couple of days ago he probably wouldn't have cared. Heck he still believed he didn't care. Zoro didn't get up. They were arguing about something stupid. A woman shouldn't make men crazy like this woman seemed to do, but the work fuck… just wasn't right, it made it so primal sounding and disgusting.

"I need to train more and stop caring" Zoro whispered quietly to himself. He would keep the woman's secret but that was all he owed her. He didn't owe her anything more like 'standing up for her honour,' she was strong enough to do it herself and really he didn't even need to protect her from other people finding out.

There was one thing however that still bugged Zoro, he knew the answer since it had become obvious but it was hard to believe. If Hancock had never allowed anyone to see her back then… she had not had sex with anyone in school… which means she wasn't the slut he had believed her to be? Zoro knew that this was probably the case but it was also possible she just didn't take her shirt off. Considering how careful she was with changing and everything, it probably wasn't the latter.

On the other side of campus, Hancock spent her time like usual, going to lessons and talking with her friends. Hancock never really considered any of the people she knew as her friends. No one really knew her. Even her sisters were in the dark about a lot of her deep dark secrets. Hancock preferred keeping her distance, if she got too close, then she would want to tell them her secret. Something she could never do.

There were a small group of girls that were always crowded around Hancock if she wasn't on search for her sisters or Luffy… but that didn't really happen anymore. They were all nice enough but Hancock suspected their friendship based mostly on her beauty but she was used to that, also because she was unapproachable and the girls were the type to want to keep it that way for themselves and Hancock.

They treated Hancock as if a queen, calling her Snake Empress. She didn't mind really but that ban on boys was a little… unnecessary, her stepfather already made that ban anyway.

Things were being said around Hancock, she wasn't really listening but on queue she smiled warmly at the girls surrounding her. The small blond girl named Margaret blushed at the sight of her smile, all oblivious to the fact that it was forced. Hancock couldn't imagine the last time her smile had been genuine.

Hancock made her way to class, her little group in tow. They all sat together or actually they all sat with Hancock keen on being with the most beautiful woman in the school.

Hancock was eager to get to class because across the hall she caught a glimpse of the famous straw hat that belonged to a man she was yet to get over. With him stood the red haired girl with that obnoxious smile that pissed Hancock off to no end. It wasn't fair she thought. She never even had a chance. She needed to give up on boys all together not that her interest was ever that big. Luffy had been a special case. The light in a dark room but besides him all men were pigs. They only ever wanted her for one reason. Luckily Hancock had learned to use it to her advantage, like saving her sisters or cutting the line at Lunch, trivial matters that made life a little easier but also built up her reputation of being unapproachable. Hancock let out a big sigh.

"What's wrong Hancock?" Margaret asked with genuine worry in her eyed. Hancock merely smiled and waved her question away light heartedly with a flick of her fingers.

Zoro was really bored in his lesson. Of course he would be less bored if he actually paid attention but that wasn't an option either. Ace sat next to him and was constantly in a routine of sleeping and being awake. Zoro couldn't tell when he was doing what meaning he had no one to talk to. He could talk to Jack sitting on the other side of him however he was still a little angry with the fact that it was Jack's fault he got into this whole mess with Hancock.

Thus Zoro sat there in silence till the end of the lesson. Once the lesson was complete he darted out of the class room and in the opposite direction of the dojo. He had really thought about it, today he wouldn't watch the dance class, it confused him too much, plus he didn't want Hancock believing she can rely on him more than she should and really could. Thus he made his way to the school gym. He would train. He hadn't done that in a while and he really was getting soft.

Hancock was also relieved to be out of her lesson and immediately made her way to the dojo for her dance. She walked in silence noticing the crowds around her. The men were all watching her with Lust, the women with anger and jealousy. Not everyone noticed her of course, she wasn't that desirable but Hancock did notice one man walking past her in the opposite direction. One green haired guy, wearing a dark green bandana over his always unruly hair, his tight skinny jeans revealing strong thigh muscles with feet stuffed into large black boots. His top was also tightly fit over strong muscles that looked as if they could break anything. He noticed her like she had noticed him, they made eye contact but no words were exchanged.

Hancock continued walking acutely aware of the fact that they had no connection what so ever. She made her way to dance emptying her mind. He wasn't the type of person she could trust her secret with but she had no choice. She changed alone in the cubicle allowing herself to relax before she entered the dojo. The usual crowd was there but Hancock didn't notice them. She felt tense. Something felt wrong. She wasn't sure what was wrong thus she attempted to push it to the back of her mind. At the back of the hall stood a figure Hancock normally would notice right away. A grown man with calloused hands and a sinister grin, watching her with lust filled disgusting eyes. His whole body moved in a way while he watched Hancock that suggested he was the owner of a well-trained dog showing of at a competition.

Hancock did not notice him. She refused to pay attention to her surroundings and gave in to her desires to move. Her desires to move were for herself and not anybody else. He watched her intently as Hancock practiced moves that were ingrained in her body itself. She dragged her feet across the floor and formed a stance as if ready to fight. Her eyes closed, her ears listening for the subtle cues in the song. Her hands hung limp at her side but suddenly without warning they were in action gliding through the air without a destination. They were a part of her yet they looked separate entirely. Hancock sprang into the air and twirled as if a snake, for which she was usually compared to, seducing the audience to her class with her body without intending to. By the end of it Hancock stood catching her breath feeling slightly less uneasy than before. The strange tall man that had been watching her with growing lust had left never to be noticed by the young woman whom had everything to fear had she seen him. Her stepfather had just witnessed something rare that he could exploit for his own benefit. The sick bastard took pride in not just Hancock's physical pain but emotional pain as well.

On the other side of campus was the same green haired guy with the unruly hair training in the school gym. He felt annoyed with himself for letting any one girl take his attention off of what was important. It didn't matter why she got the attention, which was because he hated her or so he thought but was forced to keep her stupid secret. He doubted it was anything all that bad because she was so shallow it was probably only a secret because it would make her "less beautiful".

Zoro groaned angrily out loud and dropped the large dumb bells with a loud thud, scaring off some of the younger people who had started to crowd. He decided it was probably time to make his way across campus. Before moving towards the door Zoro pulled off his top, wiping his forehead with it. He only had to change again in the dojo so he didn't bother putting it back on and merely stuffed the ends of it into his large pockets.

Zoro made it about halfway before hearing the obnoxious voice of the blond cook whom was an acquaintance. He sat in the food education room flirting with a girl he couldn't see. From the colour of the hair he would guess it was Robin. She was laughing loudly with him saying his cooking was nice. Zoro smirked at the next line however. Sanji had said his usual lines of woman being perfect and that he would devote the rest of his life to Robin since Nami was now dating Luffy, she merely giggled again and explained she was dating Franky.

Franky was a nice guy as Zoro could recall. He did engineering at a college nearby but Zoro had seen him once or twice at different parties. It all made sense now since they were dating. Sanji huffed in annoyance and mumbled something about all the good girls being taken.

Zoro made his way further to the dojo feeling better with that little encounter. Sanji was a major pervert but not a bad guy in the end. They always got on each other's nerves when competing but it was good to have a rival. Robin seemed good with Franky. He was crazy though, but most people Zoro knew were crazy, probably himself included.

The dojo was rather empty when he arrived, the guys already gone to change. Hancock was not present. Zoro wasn't entirely sure where she had gone. His questions were quickly answered once he got near the changing rooms. She came out fully clothed and made her way out. Never looking at Zoro or even noticing him there. It pissed Zoro off slightly that she didn't notice him, he knew they weren't on friendly terms but you'd think someone would notice the guy who was keeping a secret for them. Zoro ignored his anger at the stupid bitch and made his way into the changing rooms.

The truth was Hancock did notice Zoro but she didn't let him realize that. In her peripheral vision she watched him as he made his way to the changing room doors. She had noticed the fact that he was shirtless and wasn't disappointed with how sculpted he was. She convinced herself that she didn't notice that however. What she did notice and allowed herself to admit to it was the big scar spanning diagonally from his shoulder down to his hip. It was ragged and didn't seem to have healed nicely. She was curious to how he had gotten it and would have asked if they were on better terms which were sadly not the case. She had to remember that he hated her.

The rest of their days went similar to this. Zoro avoided Hancock like the plague but she didn't really notice since they didn't spend all that much time with each other anyway. Every day she worked harder and harder during dance worrying her fellow students due to the fact that she would wear out eventually. Still Hancock did not notice her watcher that appeared and left at the same time each day. Her stepfather was starting to creep the other audience members out till eventually one rude boy from Zoro's dojo pointed him loudly out and Hancock stood staring at him. The stepfather didn't make a scene but smirked at Hancock's fear filled eyes. He merely clarified that he was a teacher at the school and just came to watch the dance. He was not a teacher at the school; he worked at the hospital as a doctor. He had irregular shifts thus allowing him the time to come visit Hancock's school.

The lesson went by Hancock, she no longer seemed to be able to move and stood still in her spot staring at the floor unmoving until eventually she was ushered to rest at the side of the room. Everyone was convinced it was because she had overworked herself. No one knew the truth. Hancock held her head tightly between her hands.

_Okay… take a deep breath_

Hancock took a deep breath and exhaled after a few seconds.

_This doesn't change anything… I can still dance; it only showed him I was good! _

Hancock sat taking deep breaths. So focused on calming herself down so she wouldn't have a panic attack that she didn't notice her stepfather sit down next to her with the same smirk she used against other people plastered on his face. He whispered something so low she had difficulty catching what he had said.

"Very sexy your dancing. I cannot believe you haven't invited me to see it before"

Hancock said nothing and merely stared at the ground. Noticing the padded floor was starting to get old and peel at the sides. His disgusting voice was sending shivers down her spine and it was starting to get harder to keep the panic attack from happening.

With her stepfather's job, Hancock was able to avoid him most of the time since he worked mostly whilst she was home. She couldn't avoid him in the bedroom of course but she had gotten used to that. Seeing him outside the bedroom was scarier than in, she didn't know what he would do, at least he was predictable when all he wanted was her body.

Zoro was making his way towards the dojo noticing the crowd that usually lingered was very small. He enquired a random girl who looked downhearted about it her blond locks falling over her eyes. She told him Hancock wasn't feeling well so the audience left because she had stopped for the rest of the lesson. Zoro shrugged and refused to admit he was slightly curious about Hancock but not entirely worried. She was a big girl; she could take care of herself.

Zoro walked into the dojo, for once not needing to push. The lesson was technically not even over for dance yet. The girls were still dancing in the middle but even Zoro could tell they didn't feel right without Hancock there to lead them. Zoro looked around the room and finally spotted Hancock, whom he expected to be alone which was not the case. Next to her was a man probably in his late thirties talking to her as if they knew each other very well. He didn't recognize the man at all but Hancock did not look like she wanted to be talking to him, in fact she looked like she was going to vomit.

Zoro didn't really care; in fact he had decided to leave it alone however his body moved towards the pair on his own. He had no idea what he was going to say but when Hancock looked up at him with hope he felt he was probably doing the right thing, yet he still had no idea what excuse he would use so instead Hancock spoke.

"Do you need help bringing the dance mats to the gym?" Hancock stammered out to him.

Zoro nodded once curtly and made his way to the dance mats, - which had never been his responsibility, in fact they never cleaned them up because there was a storage closet in the dojo, - with Hancock close on his tail. Hancock said nothing to the strange man and picked up a of couple dance mats, practically sprinting out of the room. They would have to bring them back again in a bit but Zoro was relieved Hancock was able to come up with an excuse so fast.

The two made their way across campus quietly, once out of the view of the dojo, Zoro pulled Hancock into one of the science lecture halls and closed the door behind him. He sat the mats down and sank onto them whilst leaning against the door; he was watching Hancock with un-amused eyes. He didn't mind helping her but now it meant he was going to be late for his own sword fighting lesson, in fact he didn't even know if the guy would leave! He would demand answers; it's the least she owed him.

Hancock stood for a while glaring at Zoro but said nothing. After a while Zoro couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Are you going to tell me who that was?" He demanded more harshly than he had hoped for.

Hancock was shocked at first at how angry he sounded about it.

_He didn't have to help me if it was such a burden! _

"I do not owe you any information," Hancock said through gritted teeth attempting to keep her anger in check. This was going all wrong! She wanted to thank him for helping her; she wanted to apologize for making him keep her secret.

"If it was so bad for you, leave now and get back to the dojo!" Hancock said in a hoarse angry whisper.

"No! I helped you for a reason!" Zoro said in an angry whisper back glaring at Hancock with cold eyes. He was really starting to question why he ever helped the stupid bitch. He is a nice person, that's why.

"Why did you help me then…?" Hancock asked looking at him with hard eyes. She wasn't sure to believe him.

"Because… well… I don't know! It's just that… You seemed like you needed help and well I don't understand it either! I wasn't planning on helping you… my body just moved on its own… It's just that… I felt that because I am the only one who knew… you know, about your back. I felt that I should help you even if I didn't have to"

Hancock sat down with a giant sigh, thumping against the hard wood floor of the science lecture hall. Zoro said nothing but pulled off his bandana and moved his hand through his hair in an uncomfortable manner. The tension was so thick it was chocking them but both had too much pride. Hancock let out another big sigh, she was tired of playing this game, and she had played it enough with her stepfather, she decided to trust Zoro.

"He is my stepfather" Hancock said after a while.

Zoro said nothing but nodded. It still didn't make sense. If they were so closely related, why did it seem she wanted to get away from him so badly?

"Our relationship is… complicated" Hancock said again after a while and looked up at Zoro.

"Lock the door" She then said turning her back to Zoro. He did as he was told however he was very confused. He watched Hancock suspiciously; he wasn't sure what she was up to. She might attempt to seduce him but he would make it very clear it wouldn't work… or he had hoped it wouldn't work; he wasn't sure in the end.

Hancock dropped her sleeveless sweater on the ground, her shirt soon followed. Zoro's eyes widened in surprise unsure of what to do, her back was still a gruesome sight, and he didn't think he would get used to it however he noticed more scars than before. It had been a couple of weeks since he had found out about her secret. He saw more scabs; he could count seven that seemed to still be trying to heal, pink tender flesh surrounding each scab attempting to heal the broken skin that should never be treated this way. Hancock pulled her hair forward and away from her back giving Zoro an even better view of her canvas. It was worse than he thought, the burn mark taking up most of the space, the scars and scabs overlapping over it.

"You can… touch it if you want" Hancock said through the silence. Zoro was taken back from the sudden speech; let alone what she had said.

Zoro didn't move for a while but eventually his curiosity got the better of him and he shuffled towards her, his face a shade of hot pink. Slowly he lifted his right hand to her back lingering before even touching her, he attempted to be gentle but even the brush of his fingers against one long scar that spanned from one end of her shoulder to her hip diagonally that seemed to mirror his own, sent shivers down her spine. Zoro assumed from pain but it was mostly because this was the first time anyone but her stepfather had touched her back.

"My stepfather did this to me" Hancock said after a while, taking deep breaths attempting to keep her emotions in check. She didn't want to cry in front of him.

Zoro said nothing, he was stunned. It was starting to make sense. Hancock on the other hand said nothing because she was contemplating whether to tell him everything. Zoro assumed this was the case and gave Hancock a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder.

"When I turned old enough, in his eyes… he snuck into my room… and… he…" Hancock started to quietly sob. She didn't need to say it; Zoro understood completely what the bastard had done. Suddenly he saw Hancock in a completely different light. She was no longer the stupid bitch who thought she was better than everyone else. She was now the girl who felt she couldn't get close to anyone because of what she had been through.

"My family doesn't know. If I tell, then he will take my sisters and do it to them as well. He even threatened to kill my mother!" Hancock sobbed pulling her hands up to her face attempting to stop the tears. It was the first time she had said it out loud. It was horrible because it her mind she was reliving it all over again.

Zoro started to feel slightly useless, he felt like he needed to say something to comfort her, promise her it was going to be okay, but was it? He was just one man. How could he help? Plus… if he did help then would it just backfire onto her family?

"These scars… I get whipped during… during…"

Hancock attempted to say the word _sex_ once again but she was unable. The word couldn't escape her lips. She felt if she said it. It made it real, even though it was already very real.

"It started a little while after… he… he did that…"

Hancock let out another sob but forced herself through it. Her tears had stopped falling. She was finally able to slowly get control of her feelings.

"He whips me for every year I have lived on this earth, then he adds some more if he feels like it…"

Zoro said nothing again stunned that the man he saw earlier was the same man who had been able to do these horrible things to Hancock. She was so vulnerable, he had never noticed how badly built up her wall was.

"Luffy, was the first man to never show me any attraction, that is why… I think I fell for him"

Zoro bit his lip. He had forgotten she had a thing for his friend's younger brother. She was so innocent. Even with her having done so much… she was just so innocent. Zoro remembered studying about this in one of his lessons. He wasn't really listening like usual but he remembered the documentary. Women talking about rape and how they felt it wasn't them. They were just watching it happen to someone else, maybe that happened to Hancock?

The silence was deafening and Zoro was starting to feel a little more than uncomfortable with Hancock sitting shirtless in front of him. It wasn't that he was attracted to her right now, that would not exactly be good, but he had to admit she was beautiful even with her past, plus he had to admit his life wasn't all that great either.

"I don't remember my parents" Zoro started deciding to let Hancock know him like she had allowed him.

"They died in a mugging, I don't know what happened. I lived with my sensei Dracule Mihawk for a while and he got me into sword fighting. I left him and decided to live on my own when I hit high school. I've been on my own ever since. I moved out because… well another girl who had been orphaned had moved in. It was just uncomfortable."

Zoro decided not to mention that it was the same girl who she had seen him with at that party about a month ago whom he ended up being with for the night to relieve his… tension.

"Where did you get the scar on your chest?" Hancock asked quietly pulling her shirt over her head and turning towards him. Zoro saw her face was slightly blotchy but other than that you couldn't tell she had been crying. The usual hardened eyes were back which disappointed Zoro since he thought he had finally gotten some insight into the woman but again she was locking everyone out, or was it she was protecting the world? He knew about it already, what else could she protect him from?

"I didn't know you had seen that…?" Zoro asked with a blush he would swear he couldn't produce.

"I notice things," Hancock said with a sly smile. She was starting to feel better because Zoro knew all the disgusting things she had done and yet he didn't run away. If he did find her disgusting, then he did a good job with hiding it.

Without warning Zoro grabbed Hancock's hand gently and put it under Zoro's shirt. Her blush mirroring his but probably even more red.

"You allowed me to touch your scars… so I thought I would return the favour" Zoro said with a cheeky smile.

Hancock roamed the length of Zoro's scar feeling like this was odd. They weren't close enough for this but it was pretty much what she had done with him earlier. The sad truth Hancock realized was that probably after they left this room their relationship would not be like this again…

"It was an accident. I was practicing with my sensei Mihawk and he accidently cut me. Nothing major and exciting" There it was again, that cheeky smile that Hancock couldn't help but find sexy.

Hancock nodded pulling her hand away from Zoro's chest. His chest felt like it was burning where she had touched him which had confused him but he showed no sign to the woman in front of him.

Hancock and Zoro really connected then but what a normal person would expect didn't happen. Hancock had been through so much that it would take her a long time to understand anything. She may have been feeling butterflies in her stomach but she could not understand that it was for Zoro. They were from what they believed were different worlds. They still had a long way to go. Once they chose to leave the room their relationship would go back to what it was before. They understood each other more but that didn't stop them from driving each other up the wall and thinking the other was stuck up.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Hello my lovely readers! Welcome back! I'm sorry this update took so long, I have been studying for exams… I still should be . I made this chapter extra-long because I have exams till about 25th of May so I may not be able to update till then so please enjoy… I hope I'm not making Hancock too OOC cause it feels like I am… at least for this chapter. I'll fix her character more next chapter because she would be like this in the situation! Anyway enjoy the chapter and let me know what you think :D **_

_**Thank yous! **_

_**Kuyomi ~ **_

Chapter seven

Life had gone back to normal. Zoro struggled keeping up with his studies. He was never academic anyway, but now if his GPA dropped any lower, then he would be kicked out of the dojo, school rules. Sword fighting had meant so much to him especially when Kuina had died, his only rival in the class. She had always been better than him and he never got a chance to prove otherwise. If Zoro remembered correctly, she was in Hancock's grade…

It had been a while since he saw the woman now that he was thinking about it. It wasn't like they were purposely avoiding each other but this connection they had… didn't feel right, something that normally never happened, though Hancock was known for her unorthodox love interests. Zoro entered the dojo, rather late from his tutoring with one of his many teachers. He didn't pay attention really but showing up was giving him enough credits to at least pass. The dance was done and Hancock was nowhere to be found. It had been like this for some time now, she no longer waited for Zoro and their comfortable little chats. She left as soon as class ended. She didn't even bother to change. She always donned her long coat and made her way out the door. Usually when Zoro entered, she never even looked up. It didn't bug him per se but it felt like they had taken a step backward somewhere. He had to admit she was still infuriating but Zoro wasn't the type of guy to turn his back on someone with that kind of story but if she wouldn't let him help then he couldn't… he wouldn't know what to do anyway.

On Hancock's part, it wasn't really that she was avoiding him either, but she really didn't want to drag Zoro into things, besides all that he was a stupid man anyway. It was good enough for her to have been able to tell someone. That was all she needed from him. She didn't deserve more than that, well she didn't exactly feel that way, secretly she wanted it all to have been a bad dream. Then she could be normal, but that wasn't the case. She also could no longer stay after dance at school pretending her class was just very long since she had been caught. Hancock was forced to go home and be in the presence of that despicable man. She was starting to have more than a few thoughts about murder, but the idea of her family kept her back. She was definitely starting to lose it. Her only escape was going to end its term soon, then what would she have? Dance would be off for a couple of months to allow for "rest", something Hancock didn't want and definitely didn't need.

Zoro would have the same but he would keep practising at home. For him it was no major loss. There were only a few weeks till the Easter holidays and then he could just train all day, but before that – there was prom. He hated prom but was always forced to go by Ace. This year would be no different he was sure.

Hancock on the other hand loved prom for obvious reasons however she had to keep her dancing to a minimal due to the fact most of it wasn't appropriate for such a formal occasion. Like Zoro she always went without a date, for the fact she hated all men except Luffy and he was going with Nami. Hancock still felt a pang in her heart when she saw them together but it was slowly starting to turn into a dull throb. She knew when things were hopeless yet she couldn't bring herself to fully give up. Hope was all she had anyway.

Zoro said nothing; he refused to admit that he had hoped that their relationship would have changed. For better or worse it didn't matter, what they had now was just awkward. They had this secret together no one knew of and they couldn't pretend it didn't exist, but at the same time it didn't make everything perfect between them, far from it, on a regular basis they were at each other's throats. He found her an annoying shallow bitch and she thought of him as an empty head pig. Things couldn't have been more uncomfortable.

He changed and went to his lesson attempting his usual attitude. When it came to the dojo, his mind was clear. He couldn't afford to think about other things. His lesson was the most important thing right now but for some reason for the past few classes that woman was on his mind. She was slowly looking worse and worse in school, her eyes sunken and dark. How could things have gotten worse for her?

Zoro pushed all his worries out of his mind and concentrated on his sword techniques. Each getting progressively harder, his forehead was starting to sweat as he was having a significantly difficult time with moves. He never had this much trouble. The woman was bad news. He needed to get her out of his mind but he had no idea how.

The class ended smoothly if not roughly on his part. He was frustrated with his lack of progress but left the dojo in a timely manner. His walk home felt longer as usual, the spring was slowly creeping up on them and the humidity seemed to cling to all the wrong places. Zoro let out a big sigh and ran his hands through his hair, stopping on his way home for some milk.

His apartment was modest of size. Big enough that he lived comfortable but not that big that he wouldn't be able to pay his rent, he would pay half of it from his inheritance from his parents but the other half came from his weekend job. Working in a warehouse away from prying eyes, he spent his weekends moving large boxes; it was like training so Zoro loved it, as he would. The pay was decent and he got by but he was never really bothered to get any other job anyway. He was comfortable where he was.

Zoro sat down in his modestly sized living room. The walls were bare, the floor was bare, the kitchen was bare… his whole apartment was bare. He didn't care for decorations. He only had the necessary things, like his sword rack, kitchen tools, his bed and bathroom. That was all he needed he believed. It was also the reason he never brought girls back to his place. It wasn't his style. His apartment was his sanctuary alone, where girls were forbidden, he didn't need any ties that made coming home harder than it already was.

Going home wasn't particularly hard but it was a constant reminder of all that he lost. He wouldn't mind sharing his apartment with someone but Ace couldn't and he really didn't have any other candidates.

Zoro turned on the TV and had a nutritious meal of Soba noodles. Without warning Zoro fell asleep the empty bowl falling out of his lap as his snoring filled his empty apartment. This was common. Many nights Zoro never made it to his bed because he always fell asleep before he even could get up.

The phone rang loudly and Zoro was startled out of his deep nap, his body instantly feeling the repercussions of sleeping the way he did. He groaned pulling out his outdated mobile from his pocket. Without looking at the screen he answered the phone with a rugged:

"Hello…?" He groaned again rubbing sleep from his eyes.

There was silence on the other end of the line but Zoro could swear he heard some very silent sobs. Who would call him crying? Was this a prank call? If it was he would hang up right away but the croaky response told him this was no joke.

"Zoro?" The female voice asked through soft sobs. His demeanour softened instantly as he realized who called him. He said nothing but quietly waited for the woman to continue.

"Are you… are you busy?" The croaky voice continued on in a tone that seemed to plead? He wasn't sure if he heard her right, surely she wouldn't show weakness unless she was really desperate. There was silence for a while and suddenly Zoro knew he was supposed to reply.

"Oh! Yes… I mean no, I'm not busy, what's up?" Zoro knew he was acting too casual but he also didn't want to act too seriously, maybe she broke a nail or something? Was he overthinking things?

"Can we… could we meet up? I don't want to at home right now…"

Zoro agreed to meet her and they discussed a place. There was a park near her house he would meet her at. Zoro sighed as he got up and stretched out his stiff legs. He wasn't sure why he was even meeting the woman; he never went through this much trouble for one! Though… it wasn't like he was helping her for romantic reasons… he just felt sorry for her plus he was her only confident. That is a lot of pressure for one guy!

Zoro made his way to the park. It was cold outside the humidity from his earlier walk home completely gone now and he was thankful for his coat. It was very thin and perfect for this type of night; anything thicker would have made him sweat from the distance. The walk took him about ten minutes, even with that time he was the first to arrive, normally however the walk would have only taken him about a minute or two, but he got lost which he refused to admit. He took a spot on the swings and waited quietly for the woman to appear. It was starting to get quite late or so it seemed, Zoro had forgotten to check the time before leaving. Zoro was only sitting for a couple minutes before a tear streaked Hancock came jogging up the hill. She wasn't wearing heels for once and when he came face to face with her, he realized how short she actually was compared to him. She was still tall for a woman, don't get him wrong. The top of her head came about at his eye level so she was actually very tall but when she wore heels… she was a lot taller than him. She was wearing clothes that seemed so out of character. Long baggy trousers with a large top and sneakers. She seemed like a completely different person, her hair up in a messy bun and a zip up hoody to top it all off. Zoro let his eyes roam around a little longer; he had to admit this very unattractive set of clothes still didn't look bad on the woman. She really had a gift for always looking breathtakingly beautiful, not that Zoro was going to admit that to her or himself for that matter.

"So… what's wrong? Would you like to sit?" Zoro gestured awkwardly at the swing set and rubbed the back of his head.

Hancock said nothing but sat down. The silence was deafening as she sat there staring at her feet. Zoro was starting to regret showing up but hoped just his presence would help a little… gosh what an annoying woman she was.

Hancock got home a lot earlier than she had done in a long time. She had hoped she would be alone, or not alone. She wanted to be alone if her sisters weren't home yet. If they were she wouldn't have cared. Alas her sisters were out, probably at tutoring and her mother was out at a friend's. This was all assumption of course but Hancock knew it would be something along those lines. Hancock searched the house silently hoping for every room to be empty but just as sure as she was that her stepfather was at work, then there she found him in his office hunched over stacks of paper.

He looked up at the creak of a floorboard and gave Hancock a sly smile.

"Welcome home darling, I can't play with you yet, daddy's got some papers to file"

Hancock left without a sound relatively happy that the man was busy. She sat down in the kitchen and settled to do some homework that had been given a long time ago. She had gotten used to being in the same house as him alone. He didn't always try anything but that didn't mean she didn't fear he would. Hancock was old enough when it started to believe it wasn't normal. She was also old enough to know it could get worse as well. Hancock sat in her gym clothes staring at the blank page willing it to write itself but nothing happened. Her mind was empty of all thoughts. She was just really tired. Tired of all the stress her home gave her. It also seemed the older she got the worse the treatments were. This man was not into little girls, he was not into teenage sex, and he probably wasn't deprived either. He was just infatuated with her. He wanted just her. Though Hancock knew this, she also knew he probably didn't mean the threats against her sisters, but she couldn't be _sure_. Although Hancock suspected him to only want her, she couldn't take the chance. If he did go after her sisters… because of her, then…. She would never be able to forgive herself.

A few notes were jotted down on the blank paper but Hancock really couldn't concentrate. Eventually she gave up and put her stuff away. She just really couldn't think right now.

Slowly Hancock made her way to her room. She would have to get it over with at some point and the sick man probably wouldn't want to miss the chance of being alone with her in the house, but she didn't expect that what was waiting for her was much worse.

On the bed lay a long almost sparkling silver dress. From what Hancock could see it had a long slit on the right side of the dress that would expose her well-toned thigh. From the front it looked like the perfect dress. The cleavage line didn't seem like it would expose too much. Hancock stood stunned. The dress was beautiful almost perfect…

"Why don't you try it on?" Her stepfather's voice said from behind her as he slipped her jackets off of her shoulder to create a pool on the floor of folds in the fabric.

There would be a catch of course, Hancock couldn't see what just yet but she knew better than to deny him what he wanted, and it was better this than the violence. Her back couldn't take much more abuse. Her biggest fear was if he got bored of it and moved on. Her back was already hard enough to cover, but any more parts…and she would probably have to join a convent and become a nun.

Hancock couldn't help but smile at the thought of herself dressed as a nun but was quickly pulled back to her horrible reality with a small shove towards the dress lying innocently on the bed.

Hancock wrapped her fingers around the silky fabric and pulled it up realizing instantly what was going on. The dress had no fabric that would conceal her back. In fact the dress was made to expose as much of it as possible without going too far. In any normal circumstance, the dress would be perfect. It was gorgeous, but he was teasing her, more than that, he was taking her one fear and throwing it right back at her.

Hancock swallowed hard and stood horrified by the piece of fabric looking as if it had just talked or killed someone. Her stepfather let out a small chuckle at the sight of her face, which forced her to put on a neutral mask. She really didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt, especially over a dress.

"I heard prom was going to be soon, your mother told me all about it! She explained how much you loved it but you haven't gotten a dress yet, so I took the liberty in getting you a nice dress, aren't you grateful?" Hancock could hear the snicker in his voice even when he was trying to act innocent; it made the feeling in the pit of her stomach much worse.

Hancock turned away from him and slowly started to strip. She pulled the dress over her shoulders and down her body feeling the silk caress her thighs for a moment too long. The dress looked and felt perfect from the front. It hugged her features perfectly and flattered her best features. Her leg came out from the slit but as if only shyly showing itself to the world. Hancock turned slowly allowing her back to face her full length mirror. She stood appalled at the sight of her back. She usually avoided looking at it, but still she pulled her hair around her shoulders to get a better view.

The dress was open up until about the small of her back and ended in a V shape. It was held up around her neck and her back seemed as if it was being framed, her scars and burns standing out even more in contrast to the light silver and glimmered. Hancock bit down hard on her bottom lip and sucked air through her teeth to keep her temper in check. She was feeling a mixture of emotions, anger, sadness and a strong feeling of downright hopelessness.

Hancock pushed her hair back over her back. It covered her burn perfectly but her scars sprang out from the edges. There were too many to cover. Her scars looked like veins running from the middle of her back. With her hair covering it seemed like they were coming from her hair. Like the back of a demon with the face of an angel. She could never grow her hair long enough to cover everything. They would always show. Especially the scars that were that were always reopened, peeled back open by her wicked stepfather so that they healed ragged and uneven, never able to fully disappear. That man made it impossible to ever forget. If the scars on her heart would ever heal, he sought to it that the ones on her body would not.

Next to the mirror stood her stepfather with a large smirk across his lips his next words were torture.

"You look amazing, breath-taking!"

If his mocking tone wasn't enough he started to clap, loudly and slowly, each clap rang through the room and sent shivers down Hancock's spine forcing her to subtly flinch away each time.

"You know I cannot wear this" Hancock said after a while knowing he wouldn't. She tried to keep her tone nonchalant as if this was no big deal for her, but she wasn't fooling anybody. She tried again with a more common approach to men she didn't know "I know I am probably beautiful in anything I wear, but… I cannot wear this on prom, besides I already have a dress picked out"

"I'll be the only person to see this artwork? That doesn't bother me. You belong to me anyway, _mi amore_"

_My love_… Bullshit! Even if he did love her in his sick and twisted way she would never love him back. For what he did to her, this was the worst he had ever done. Hurting her physically was one thing, she could always get up and wash away the blood… but psychologically she could never clean the wounds.

Hancock's stepfather stepped forward and left the lightest of kisses on her shoulder, where he traced her long ragged scar that spanned from her hip to her shoulder. He was so gentle it was scary. He was only ever gentle when it came to playing with his scars. She knew it was a weird fetish he had over her back. Hancock felt his large hand push her down on the bed.

_Here it comes…_ she thought to herself sighing quietly, she was too tired and upset to fight back not that it ever helped anyway. It only turned him on more. Everything seemed to blur, Hancock was sure exactly why but she felt him push her hair from her face and untie the strings holding up her dress and how exposing her plain black bra she refused to take off.

Downstairs the familiar click of the door opening sounded and her stepfather was out of her room in a second to greet whoever just arrived home, but not before he readjusted his member out of view from the unsuspecting eyes.

Alone Hancock sat in her room with her dress half down. She hadn't even noticed that the door had been closed and the reason for her blurry eyes was thick tears that she couldn't even feel fall because she was so numb.

Slowly Hancock slid off the bed and wriggled out of the dress not caring that it would get crinkled. The dress was horrible. It was perfectly horrible! Hancock grabbed old trousers she wore when she was upset and a large baggy top, and a large sweater to match. Hancock wore these to feel unattractive, something that would surprise most people. Her beauty ruined her life practically so sometimes she just didn't want to be noticed. She pulled her long hair into a messy bun above her head and donned large fluffy socks. She sat there for a while waiting but her sobs wouldn't stop.

Downstairs she could hear her cheery mother happily talking to her demon husband about her day. He replied perfectly talking of his filing and not having done much else. If playing with Hancock's psychological state of mind was considered _"much else"_ then the world was really screwed up.

Hancock pulled out her phone unsure of what she was doing. She knew for sure however that she had to get out of the house. Hearing his voice kept sending fresh tears pooling down her face. Her breathing was ragged with her attempt at keeping quiet. This was worse than he had ever done to her. Which was throwing back all the horrid memories with a fresh wave of pain?

Hancock dialled slowly, wiping vigorously at her face so she would be able to see the screen. The dial tone seemed to last forever and she thought that he wasn't going to pick up but suddenly she heard a:

"Hello…?" accompanied by a long groan.

Zoro stared down at the woman in horror holding the swing bar tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning sheet white with his ferocity. He wasn't good at this kind of thing and didn't know what to say. He was probably the worst person to have come to for comfort. He wanted to brush her messy hair from her face but remembered her explaining how her stepfather had done it. Zoro stopped himself figuring that it would probably just remind her of him.

Zoro was at a loss for what to do. He stood there like a gaping fish for a couple of seconds and then just attempted to empty his mind. He figured it was worth a shot to let his body do something. He had seen enough movies to give him an idea of what to do, he just really hoped it didn't give the woman the wrong impression that would scare her off or make her feel ever worse.

Zoro leaned down and pulled Hancock up - forcing her to stand - and into his arms. He held her tightly rocking her slightly.

Hancock stood stiffly at first feeling his strong arms wrap around her not so delicate frame. She had considered pushing him away but his warmth was comforting. Slowly with shaky hands she clung to his back, with two fists full of his white shirt she wept loudly into his shoulder. She shook and trembled but Zoro kept her standing as he felt her fists tighten and loosen constantly. He stood there and took it all in making cooing noises to calm her down. Part of him considered stroking her hair like you would a child but he discarded the thought for the same reasons as before.

Hancock stayed in Zoro's arms for a long time; she wasn't sure how long exactly since the moon was already out for quite some time. She felt oddly secure in his grip even if he was a man. He was not the type of person she would trust with her secret but hadn't had a choice. Now he was here comforting her. She was very grateful to him, more than he probably knew. She gripped him tighter and in response he pulled her closer to him. He was so warm… Not sickening warm like her stepfather, just the perfect amount to keep the chill away from her.

Hancock stayed in his arms longer and Zoro was starting to get tired legs. She stopped crying and was quietly breathing. Slowly Zoro tried to pull away but her strong fists seemed unwilling to let go. He looked down at her; she seemed to be pleading with him. He was again at a loss for what to do. It was a fluke he had done something right.

"I'm guessing you don't want to go home?" Zoro asked her

She nodded her head slowly but there really wasn't a place for her to go… and she was sure his parents would mind a girl staying over. That thought was barely through her head when she realized him explaining that he lived alone due to his parents not being around any longer.

Zoro stepped away from Hancock but kept his hands on her shoulders keeping her steady. Indeed she needed him to because her legs felt weak and all the energy drained out of her. She was so very tired. Would one night hurt? Would her stepfather do anything to her sisters? She couldn't risk it, but she wouldn't be able to be home right now and act like everything was fine. Her mother or sisters would suspect something. Her stepfather would have to let her go. Even if just for one night, she would make him agree. She wouldn't go inside however since that was risking herself.

Zoro started guiding Hancock out of the park but it seemed her legs were glued to the ground. Her knees gave in but Zoro caught her. Without words he hoisted her onto his back and she wrapped his arms around him neck.

"I ugh… need to speak to my stepfather first… I think you know why?"

Zoro grunted in reply. He did know why. She had to make sure he would stay away from her sisters.

"Where do you live then?" Zoro asked heading away from the park. The woman was surprisingly lighter than she looked and he carried her without ease. It was odd. He never had a woman at his apartment… though he guessed it wasn't bad since it wasn't that kind of relationship.

Hancock pointed out where she lived and they walked onto her drive. He set her down slowly and walked to a nearby lamppost. Far enough to be out of hearing distance and hopefully noticeable distance, but not so far that he couldn't quickly run and help her.

Zoro felt awkward about being at her home. So close to the asshole but he

Couldn't exactly tell her to fuck off and take care of her own problems. He wasn't the type of guy to turn his back on someone who needed him as desperately as Hancock seemed to need. Her vulnerability seemed rare, something she only ever showed him and her stepfather. The latter wasn't willingly.

Hancock knocked at the door knowing she forgot her key. She was silently praying her stepfather would be the one to open the door and to her luck it was. He frowned at the sight of his stepdaughter at the door. He was unaware she had gone out.

"How can I help you?" Her stepfather said not to alert the rest of the family at this odd occurrence. He closed the door behind him and stood silently waiting for Hancock to explain.

"I need to stay at a friend's house tonight" Hancock said with a shaking voice. She stared at the ground feeling pain in the pit of her stomach again.

"If… if you don't want your secret blown you will let me go because…" Hancock swallowed hard angry with herself that she had to admit it to the monster "… I cannot pretend to be okay tonight"

Hancock let out a small sigh feeling better admitting it out loud even if it meant it was to this bastard.

Her stepfather said nothing and nodded, a small note of anger filled his face but it seemed like he understood what she needed.

"Promise me, you won't do anything!" She said feeling a little bit of courage well up behind her words. She looked him in the eyes. He seemed sincere but it didn't come without a price.

"Fine, but you _WILL_ make it up to me" he whispered with a smirk, he was never one to let an opportunity go by unused. To which Hancock nodded, she assumed as much. There was no longer anything he could do to her that could make it worse anyway. One night of rest without fear he might come in and wake her was what she needed; one night was more than enough.

Hancock's stepfather turned and opened the door, entering the house without a sound, but before he closed the door behind him Hancock lent in and grabbed her book bag and gym bag at least she would be slightly prepared for school and would have some clothes. Better than nothing…

Hancock turned to the sound of the door closing and made her shaky way towards Zoro. He was watching her with… pity? No it was something else… his eyes seemed soft when he watched her, sympathetic maybe. She wasn't exactly sure but it definitely wasn't pity.

Hancock smiled at him sadly at him following him silently as he turned to leave. Hancock would be either very stupid or ignorant if she thought it wouldn't be awkward at all but he understood as well as her that there really wasn't another choice they had.

They walked in silence during what seemed like forever but was probably only a span of five to ten minutes. Hancock walked next to Zoro fiddling with the strap of her bag. When she looked up again they were standing in front of a big apartment complex.

"Well this is home" Zoro breathed out looking up at his apartment, of course Hancock wouldn't know which was his but they were pretty much all the same anyway.

Zoro took the initiative and made his way into the building and up the stairs. The pair still walked in silence. Zoro was silent because he was starting to realize exactly what he had gotten himself into. They may not have had that kind of relationship but she was still a woman after all and he was a man. Plus she was probably the most attractive woman Zoro had ever met. Hancock was silent because everything she had wanted to comment on would have come out as an insult, something she should refrain from doing at that moment.

They entered his tiny apartment with the same silence as before and Hancock slowly set her stuff down on the floor. She looked around. It was very bare but it fit her current feeling right then anyway: Empty. There was a bathroom with a shower, a small kitchen that connected with the living room and a bedroom with a bed and a desk. Hancock wondered where she would sleep but it didn't really matter in the end.

Zoro cleared his throat. "Well here it is… my house… or apartment rather"

Hancock nodded.

"I'm sorry…" She said after a while. Zoro's confused expression told her he didn't quite understand what she meant.

"For barging in on you, I know you don't need this kind of problem in your life"

"Don't be stupid! I invited you here didn't I?" Zoro practically yelled. He may have been surprised at why he was helping her so much but he knew that he definitely wasn't being forced to do so. He helped her out of choice and even though he didn't understand everything that was happening, he did understand that what he was doing was right.

Hancock stared at him surprised forcing Zoro's face to turn slightly red. Gosh… this woman was really annoying! One second she is in your face and so self-assured, the next… she is this weird timid kitten.

Hancock replaced his surprised face with a small smirk.

"You invited me huh?" Hancock laughed softly and circled around Zoro. "Why ever would you have done that?"

Uh oh… she was feeling better. Zoro was surprised at how quickly he was able to pull her out of that place she had nested in. He knew it to be a dangerous area.

Hancock ran her hands over his shoulders lightly forcing his face to grow pinker. After a few seconds he shrugged her off and made his way to his bedroom, her annoying laugh filling the empty apartment.

"You can take my bed tonight if you want" Zoro said attempting to force his face to regain its normal colour. He didn't understand why she could be so teasing even after all that she had been through, but he could guess that it was probably a coping mechanism, she knew she was beautiful and learned to use it to her advantage. Zoro was looking at Hancock with the same eyes as before which caused her own face to soften. She was glad she told him about her issues. She may not have thought it before but there really was no one else she could have told.

"Thank you…" Hancock said to him with a small smile. She wouldn't argue for the bed because in the end she did want it plus Zoro was probably the type of guy who would refuse to letting a girl sleep on the floor.

Thinking about this Hancock realized she really did know much about the guy and she was staying at his house!

"I know this is a little weird… but can I borrow some… clothes to sleep in? And I'll need something for tomorrow…"

Hancock cringed at her stupidity. Her gym bag was empty except for her ankle boots and some extra gym clothes she would need for dance. Zoro nodded and cracked a smile. Hancock couldn't help but smile back and eventually the two of them were laughing at how weird the situation was. Neither of them would ever have thought something like this would happen. Neither of them would have ever thought they would be on speaking terms…

Zoro walked to the single dresser in the room and pulled out clothes that may fit Hancock. To sleep in he just pulled out a baggy top and some shorts. It didn't matter did it? But… clothes for the next day were tricky. He ended up pulling out some stretchy black knee length trousers and a white top. He added his haramaki but he wasn't sure she would want it.

Hancock sat down on the bed; it was softer than it looked, she sat there for a while in silence looking around the room and then back at Zoro. She picked up the clothes intended for her to sleep in. She got up awkwardly and gave Zoro a questioning look.

"What…? Oh! The bathroom is that way" Zoro pointed towards a closed door across the hall.

Hancock made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaving Zoro alone in his room.

"What am I doing?" he asked himself rubbing his head roughly again. Neither of them seemed to be acting like themselves.

Zoro stood in the middle of his room awkwardly. He knew having someone over would change how his apartment felt. He was right, and he wasn't even sleeping with her! Why was it so odd for him?

To pull Zoro out of his thoughts Hancock entered the room in the shorts. The top he gave her was longer than he thought and it ended up covering even the shorts, making it seem like she was not wearing any trousers at all! Zoro was staring at her he knew but those legs… they were something else. He couldn't keep the blush from his face but quickly looked away. Stupid woman…

Hancock noticed his blush and smirked again with that patronizing look in her eyes.

"Oh…? Do you like the sight?" she asked stretching out her leg and falling backwards onto the bed.

Zoro coughed loudly and smirked back at the woman, at least they were acting like themselves again.

"You wish woman! Not everyone is in love with you! You are so annoying… put those legs away, I don't need to go blind… you are so pale!"

Hancock was indeed very pale. This wasn't a surprise since she couldn't really swim in a bikini or swimsuit for that matter, and a t shirt would lead to too many questions, so sun tanning was out of the question. Being pale surprisingly fit her however.

"You are just jealous stupid swordsman!"

"What am I jealous of? I would rather not be a stupid bimbo!"

"Bimbo? I'll show you who is a bimbo!" Hancock jumped off the bed and tackled Zoro lightly to the floor. They wrestled half playfully half violently. Zoro attempted to be gentle with the woman but she definitely wasn't being gentle with him, it took most of his effort to keep her from kneeing him in the groan. It took the rest of his effort to not feel her breasts against his chest.

_She took off her bra… _

Zoro smiled, he now knew how to get her off of him.

"Hey… they are smaller than they look huh?"

Hancock stopped shifting instantly and became very aware of her breasts leaning up against him. She flew off of him in only a few counts and stood staring at him angrily.

"You… pig" She wasn't exactly angry. She knew he didn't mean it like that but still…

"Hey… you were the one pressed up against me…" Zoro lay on the floor his hands up defensively in case she was going to be crazy again.

Hancock made a noise that seemed almost like hissing, Zoro wasn't sure but it made him laugh loudly causing Hancock to scowl.

"It's because I am beautiful!" With that Hancock threw one of Zoro's pillows and it hit him square in the face. Now it was Hancock's turn to laugh.

Zoro pulled the pillow off of his face and showed a very soft smile.

"You laughed… that was the first real laugh of the night"

Hancock stopped laughing and gave Zoro a sad smiling whilst settling back onto his bed. Zoro grabbed more sheets from his closet and laid them on the floor in a messy pile while he himself left for the bathroom to change. He came back out not too long after donning similar shorts like Hancock but no top. She stood staring at his scare then she like him looked away blushing.

Zoro settled onto the floor and sat up watching her as she tucked herself under the covers. She looked down at him and smiled for a couple of seconds.

"Thank you again, Zoro" She whispered for only Zoro to hear even though they were alone in the apartment.

"You are welcome, but I still find you infuriating!" He said back with a cheeky smile.

"I wouldn't have it any other way! Plus you are the idiot swordsman, and I wouldn't want to be caught dead with you! I do not understand what Luffy's older brother sees in you!"

Zoro growled at the woman.

"Because unlike you, I am good company!"

The two sat in silence for a bit. Hancock looked at Zoro and suddenly her face changed into a seductive one. Her eyelids half closed and her mouth open slightly. She sat up slightly and brushed her hair past her shoulders.

Zoro couldn't look away even though he knew she was playing him.

"Am I really that bad?" She asked after a while, her voice had completely changed. It was quiet for a little while as Zoro was fighting with himself.

"Yes" He said through gritted teeth… stupid woman was trying to manipulate him!

Hancock's face returned to normal with a smile, he really wasn't like most guys if he didn't fall for that. Good, she didn't want it any other way. In some ways he was a lot like Luffy. She treated Zoro a lot better than most guys because he knew her secret but also because there was no need to be a bitch; it seemed to be now that he knew she didn't really mean it.

In one day, there relationship changed drastically, they may even be called friends now.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Ah, it has been too long! I have graduated in the mean time! Sorry I didn't write this sooner but I didn't have the time, with exams and what not, and relationship issues… But I'm still alive! Gosh this chapter killed me btw! I know it's not so long but I wanted to end it where I did :D So I hope you enjoy… and I hope I get good exam grades… because my writing speed suffered because of it! **_

_**I'll have another authors note at the bottom, ENJOY**_

Chapter Eight

Everyone was staring, of course Hancock knew why but they were just clothes! That morning Zoro and Hancock had overslept and arrived together at school quite late which caused gossip to bloom through the halls. It really didn't help that Hancock was wearing Zoro's clothes, because it was quite obvious that they were his. Zoro had a specific style and everyone knew it.

That morning Hancock changed in a blast wearing the Haramaki that he laid out for her, that surprised him but what surprised him the most was how… sexy she looked in his clothes. The very thought angering him.

Once he arrived to class he was questioned by practically every man who had seen them arrive, including his dojo friends and Ace. Most guys were making sure they still had a chance with the woman but Zoro refused to say anything, denying any thoughts of him "banging" her. He wasn't sure how much he was allowed to say thus chose to not say anything. Rumours always went away after a while, this would be no different, and if anyone believed that they had a "thing" then even denying it wouldn't help him either way.

Hancock did a similar thing and said nothing, mostly because hardly anyone asked her. She was as unapproachable as always. The ice queen of the senior year, and for once it came in handy because Hancock really wasn't in the mood to explain unnecessary things. Hancock had however hoped Luffy would ask why she was wearing Zoro's clothes and why they appeared together but the boy didn't even bat an eyelid at her because he was too busy being a lovesick puppy for that stupid Nami girl. She had to admit however they seemed kind of cute together… and why would he want such a tainted woman as herself? No, she was better off alone where no one can harm her.

Hancock walked down the halls briskly feeling uncomfortable without her long bellowing coat that she usually wore. Yes, Zoro's clothes covered her back perfectly but she was always afraid anyway hence she wore his Haramaki even if it wasn't her style in the slightest. Marguerite met her happily in the hallway and looked questionably at her clothes but said nothing, bringing a big sigh of relief to Hancock's throat. She liked Marguerite but she just couldn't drag the sweet girl into her problems. Across the hall she spotted her two lovely sisters and instantly a pang of guilt settled in her stomach forcing her to hurry over to them and fast as a walking pace would allow without alarming others. She walked up to them with her usual fake smile plastered to her face, the smile even hitting her eyes. She had, had years of practice with smiles that she would sometimes feel that she was genuinely smiling even if she was not.

"Sandersonia, Marigold!" Hancock exclaimed in a happy voice, one usually reserved for only her sisters.

Hugs were exchanged and she forced herself to laugh with her sisters. They did not question why she was not home that night but she did explain, to the best of her ability that she had stayed at Zoro's for a project and forgotten her clothing. She hoped it was sufficient and they didn't seem to question her about it at all which was good.

Hancock looked at her sisters for a sign, any sign, any change to see if that demon had touched them, but both sisters seemed as bright and glowing as usual which allowed Hancock to release the breath she didn't know she was holding in, relief taking over her whole being and relaxing her to the tip of her toes.

Slowly the halls were emptying as class was starting to resume.

"Do you have dance today sister?" Sandersonia asked looking up at her sister with respect. She truly respected her sister for what she did dance wise, and she was so good! Sometimes Marigold and Sandersonia would skip tutoring to come watch their sister during practice and each time they stood amazed at how amazing and fluid like a snake she was. They were always considered the snake sisters, Sandersonia's hair a long length but it had a thickness that resembled snakes like medusa, causing teasing whilst she was younger but was now her icon, Marigold was larger than her two sisters in body mass and was considered less like a snake however her attitude resembled that of a snake, more than the attitudes of Sandersonia and Hancock.

Hancock shook her head "No, I'll be heading home with you two" She added a smile to the end of her sentence. Indeed it had been a long time since she had walked home with her sisters and it was a welcome change. That was the only thing she missed because of her constant dance lessons.

Without another word and only an exchanged head nod Hancock's sisters headed off to their class at the end of the hall. They would be sharing this class with Luffy and they were well aware of their sister's crush causing them to sadly look at the stupid boy who never even noticed. Hancock knew they pitied her slightly because of what happened with Luffy causing the pain in her chest to throb slightly, but she pulled herself together because she had been through much worse.

Hancock also headed off to her class, where she sat quietly attempting to concentrate but failing miserably. The teacher had asked to Hancock to collect the homework she herself hadn't done and was forced to explain why. Her excuse wasn't very original, "I'm sorry I forgot", however it worked and she was let off with a warning and a request to get it in as soon as possible. Hancock didn't know what was up with her and her lack of concentration but she was sure it had to do with her demon stepfather and his stupid mind games, the physical body games he played with her were bad enough and it took her a long time to be able to deal with it but now he had taken it a step further and Hancock was sure if she was able to cope.

A piece of paper was pushed onto Hancock's text book, without looking around to who was sitting next to her, she opened the note and read its contents.

_You aren't really yourself lately are you, beautiful lady, are you okay? _

To the right of Hancock sat Marguerite silently paying attention in class unaware of the exchange of notes next to her. Hancock looked up and saw a blond boy grinning at her; she was unaware of his presence until just then and felt that she was being stupidly unobservant.

She recognized him as one of Luffy's friends but never realized that he was in the same classes and grade as her. She recognized him to be a flirt so why had she never known? It didn't make much sense to her at all, but as if reading her mind Sanji snatched the little note from in front of Hancock and added more to his previous question.

_I transferred into your class today. Was in the other homeroom however the classes clashed with my home economics classes and thus I needed to be moved so we now have this class in common but I think it is the only one… anyway ready to answer my previous question?_

Hancock stared wide eyed at the paper that was again pushed in front of her. How could he fit so much on such a small paper? She pulled out a clean sheet of paper.

_**I'm fine. **_

Sanji looked at the paper for only a second before replying again. Hancock sighed angrily. She didn't want to be talking to him.

_Are you sure? _

_**What do you care? **_

_Because you are a beautiful lady! _

To this Hancock chose not to reply and shoved the sheet of paper into her binder. She refused to look at Sanji the whole rest of the class and gathered her things to leave as soon as the bell rang. She didn't need anymore "Friends", guys who wanted to get with her but wanted to make it seem they weren't obsessed with her beauty. At least this guy was upfront about how he felt about her beauty…

Zoro was also eager to get away from the crowd of guys who refused to believe anything he said about him and Hancock. They had already invented a story in their heads about what happened between the two of them and would accept nothing but that from his mouth. He really didn't care and was in no mood to deal with this and thus at the first opportunity he dragged Ace out with him, darting towards the lunch hall. School was always a blur for Zoro especially now since no one was leaving him alone like they usually would since he freaked out most of the students that attended that school.

Ace walked slowly behind Zoro forcing him to slow his fast pace to that of a trot. Walking with his hands in his pockets Ace stared ahead at Boa Hancock at her locker talking to some girl towards the end of the hall. Smiling Ace caught up with Zoro and cleared his throat.

"So… You think you are going to ask anyone to prom?" Ace started looking ahead

Zoro shrugged and then shook his head. There wasn't anyone he would want to bring and besides that he never really thought about it.

"I was thinking of asking someone…" Ace stared forcing Zoro to halt in his step and stare at him perplexedly. Ace kept a straight face making Zoro laugh loudly.

"It isn't funny! I just thought that this way I could at least show up with the most beautiful girl in the school rather than the biggest bone head!" With that Ace shoved Zoro forward with force and continued.

"Do you like Boa Hancock?" Ace added

There was no exchange of words for a while as Zoro stared at Ace trying to gauge what he was trying to say. It was pretty obvious what was being said but Zoro had hoped he had misheard or something.

"Of course I don't like Hancock! Are you crazy? She is a self-assured bitch!"

"Good! That you don't like her I mean… not that you think she is a bitch… I think she just has a lot of walls up. Things she doesn't want people to know… I think that if she trusts someone then she will let them in. I'm kind of hoping I will be that person… but we shall see"

Ace smiled and strolled towards Hancock who was now only a few meters away but still far enough from hearing distance. Zoro stared at them for a while not sure of what exactly was happening. He didn't like it, that was about all he knew for sure, but why didn't he like it?

There was laughing and then Hancock flipping her hair behind her shoulder. Neither Ace nor Hancock's facial expression gave away what they were talking about and slowly it was driving Zoro insane. Moments later Ace returned. Zoro grunted to get him to spill what happened.

"I didn't ask… we discussed her dance class briefly… it was awkward"

Zoro let out a sigh of relief and his breath he didn't know he was holding in. His shoulders stopped being tense and he felt the dull throb in his chest stop.

_What the fuck is this?_

He wasn't stupid; he could realize like any person that he was probably having minimal feelings for Hancock. However he could blame it on feeling pity for the unfortunate woman, or just her beauty, but he was neither that superficial nor did he pity people often. He was more likely to have a thing for her because of her strength to fight her issues. He realized he didn't want Ace dating Hancock because he may have feelings for the woman, but did he himself want to date her? That he didn't know.

"Why didn't you ask her?" Zoro asked watching Ace's facial expression carefully.

"I couldn't, she looked like she wasn't in the mood to talk about prom…"

She wasn't, Zoro knew why which made his dull throb in his chest from earlier reappear. He really couldn't do much for the woman. Hancock was the only person who could ever stand up to her stepfather but she couldn't do much if she didn't say anything.

Ace grunted softly realizing he needed to be going in the same direction as Hancock and not the opposite, thus the pair waited for her to move before silently walking after her, to not alarm the woman of course but also not to seem creepy. Ace didn't know what relationship the two had and assumed they weren't as close as they seemed because Zoro was difficult to get close to, thus randomly following her would spook her and ruin all chances Ace may have had to get her to be his prom date.

Hancock knew what Ace was going to ask. It was obvious. It's not that she didn't like him. He was nice and fun but he was Luffy's older brother, also she really didn't want to go with anybody this year. She wasn't even sure she still wanted to go after the trick her asshole stepfather pulled. She felt bad not letting Ace even ask her at all but it was always easier on her this way, less people to hurt because she was hurting. It wasn't exactly fair either. No, she would rather be seen as the cold hearted bitch that was unapproachable. Thus no prom date.

Hancock walked down the hall only to run into the stupid blond man that seemed to think they were best friends now. Close behind her she could feel Ace and Zoro nearing them as well as a crowd.

_Oh boy… _

Hancock crossed her arms in front of her chest waiting for the blond man to move out of the way but he didn't and neither did the obnoxious smile that took up most of his face, that stupid perverted smile that angered Hancock to see it, to a point where she wished to get rid of it with the heel of her boot.

"Hancock!" He exclaimed coming too close to her for her comfort.

Behind her Hancock heard Zoro grunt as Ace made his way next to Hancock. Zoro didn't want to get involved. It wasn't exactly his business who the woman talked to but she seemed tense and Ace was determined to save the day.

Slowly an annoying crowd was starting to form because of the odd group of people talking. Everyone knew what kind of person Sanji could be thus this was probably an invite to prom, and people were eager to know if she would accept his offer or not. Most people wished for Hancock to say no for different reasons. Some of the girls wanted Sanji to themselves and thus her accepting his offer would be bad, others had already decided she was destined for the cold Zoro so she could "warm" him up. For the guys it was the opposite, they wanted her, and Sanji was a threat but none of them wanted her with Zoro either. She was the school beauty that no one was allowed to obtain.

Hancock said nothing and stood tense. This was annoying. Most guys were too afraid to really come out and say what they wanted from her thus allowing her to easily dodge the question all together, however Sanji didn't really fear rejection and he was too in love with himself to notice her obvious distaste of him, meaning she would be asked either way. She wasn't even sure if a rejection would stop him from hitting on her all together; probably not is what she decided to think in the end.

"So, do you have a date to the prom, or holding out for someone special?"

Sanji put on a large smirk and eyed Hancock up and down giving her nasty shivers. He was an overall nice guy she could admit but this attitude towards her was disgusting and reminded her of her stepfather when they first met. How he had watched her. She knew he wanted her but had secretly hoped he loved her mother too much to ever try anything but one night her wish didn't come true and he slipped into her room whilst she was trying to sleep.

The first time… was the worst time for her. The way he touched her, it was all new. She was still quite young and innocent and he kept telling her he loved her. No one else was good enough and that it was her fault for this. She was bewitched him and now she was going to put out for him because he obviously wanted it as much as him. She didn't understand what was going on. She cried and screamed for him to stop but no one was home to hear them and he didn't feel like having mercy. The only time she allowed him to see such weakness in her. The only time she cried in front of him. At first she did blame herself. Maybe it was her fault, had she subconsciously wanted him as well? Eventually she realized it wasn't her fault, but there wasn't much she could do. He kept coming and she let him. She was scared, and didn't know how to say no. A couple of weeks into it she finally got the courage and pulled a knife on him, telling him to get away from her…

"Get the fuck away from me! Or I'll call the police!"

The room smelled like burnt potatoes as Hancock continued to raise her voice with rage at the man standing before her.

Laughter filled the room and Hancock grimaced at the sight of her stepfather keeling over slightly and shaking with genuine laughter.

"I thought eventually you would try to fight back, too bad"

Her stepfather straightened his stance and his face suddenly took on a stern look.

"I wouldn't stop me if I were you..." He started running his hand gently over the handle of the pan on the stove not really looking at Hancock.

Hancock said nothing and gulped loudly. Her previously found courage was slowly seeping out of her and her face was pale.

"I mean, what about your sisters? Do they have the strength to survive it? Can you really save both? What about your poor mother? Would she believe her slut of a daughter? You seduced me… IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

_It's your fault!_

Hancock felt as if she had just been shot. Her knife she had been holding tightly clattered to the floor and she slowly started to back away to the door. Her stepfather was fast however and he caught her wrist tightly and jerked her back forcing a yelp of surprise to fill the silent kitchen.

"I will do things to your sisters that you couldn't even imagine… Then when I have had my fill, I will kill them slowly forcing you and your mother to watch. She would blame you for the rest of your life!"

Hancock said nothing and only stared at the man. He was a monster.

"The police wouldn't even be able to get her on time! You and your family would be dead before that. Do you really want to ruin your family's happiness just because I make you slightly uncomfortable? You're selfish!"

_You're Selfish!_

He jerked Hancock forward forcing his lips roughly onto her and held the back on her head in a bruising manner. Hancock let her hands drop to her side thus bringing her detachment into reality and caging up her emotions to protect her family.

Hancock got pushed forward her hands leaning against the counter.

_He is going to have sex with me in the kitchen? _

Without warning her shirt was ripped to tatters and her bra joined the shreds on the floor shortly after. Her trousers however were not touched.

"I will teach you to be mine forever, and so you can never forget how you belong to me"

His voice was low and Hancock could never have guessed what he was about to do to her. The pain was something she was never going to forget. Her stepfather placed one hand on her throat making it so she couldn't move, any struggle and she would choke herself. The other hand was placed tightly around the handle of the pan. Hancock stood silent waiting for him to take her trousers off or touch her breasts but the suddenly she couldn't stop screaming.

She felt nothing but something hard placed against her back, then she felt pain before she felt the heat. It felt like everything was going slow and the pain was slowly creeping over her whole body and forcing her to shake and convulse. Despite choking herself with movement Hancock wriggled and shook and shied away from the heat but she was held firm and forced to choose air or pain. Her body shook and Hancock wasn't even sure if she was screaming anymore. Her whole body was on fire and then there was only black.

Hancock fell limp in her stepfather's arms. He placed the hot pan back on the stove and admired his damage. A large circular burn was placed in the middle of Hancock's pale smooth back. The skin was burnt away and a thick sheen on blood had risen to the surface to attempt to protect her. He bandaged and placed her in bed happy with his deed.

From then on his obsession with scaring her back got worse and worse. He found new ways to make sure she could never leave him. He had gotten desperate and resorted to physiological pain as well. He wanted her to be so scared to leave him but it was difficult because she was so strong of character.

Her scars had become somewhat of an arousal to him and slowly he was feeling himself become more and more sick each day. He wanted her so badly that he was willing to destroy her so no one else could have her.

Hancock awoke shortly after, stiff and in pain. Her door had a lock now and her family had been told she felt ill. For days she waited for the burn to heal but soon she was forced into a routine of sex and school. She was stuck in a cycle and felt she could only blame herself like he had said.

"It's your fault you know, that you are so beautiful" Sanji said with a small chuckle

_It's your fault! _

"You shouldn't be so selfish; you should share yourself with admirers of love, like me"

_You're Selfish! _

Hancock could feel herself shake slightly. This man meant no harm but he was a man. Like her stepfather. A man who had touched her in a horrible manner, a man who wouldn't stop no matter how much she begged, no matter how many times she closed her legs, he would just force them open again.

Slowly she started to shake her head and back away from the blond man. He reminded her too much of her stepfather. He seemed nice at first as well…

"Hey you shitty cook, stop it!"

The voice game from her right and Hancock slowly turned and saw it was a very pissed off looking Zoro.

"What does it matter to you Marimo?"

The two looked at each other angrily forcing an exasperated sigh from the crowd. Those two never got along and now it was going to be about woman… great…

"It matters because Hancock already agreed to be my date to prom"

Without warning Zoro grabbed Hancock's wrist and yanked her into his arms. She looked up at him with a shocked expression but didn't stop him and he slowly lowered his face down to hers. His lips were on hers in no time and he wrapped his arms around her neck. The kiss was tender and better than anything he ever had before. It meant something to him.

"What are you doing?"

Hancock pushed Zoro back and slapped him hard. She couldn't be doing that. Her sisters were in danger!

"I thought you understood!" Hancock screamed losing her cool for the first time in a long time in front of a crowd.

"How could you do this to me? You are just like every other man!"

Tears stung at her eyes and she couldn't keep them in. She turned on her heel and ran fast in the opposite direction away from the crowd. How could he like her? He was just like every other man, only out to get her beauty. He didn't really like her! He didn't really sympathise with her! He just saw it as a good opportunity to get close to her! He tricked her! The tears came fast and Hancock had trouble seeing where she was going but she continued to run. She needed to get away from all the men.

_I hate them! I hate them! I hate them!_

Zoro stayed and stared at the back of her head, the dull throb in his chest turning into a big ache.

_What have I done? _

_Of course things wouldn't be so simple. God! I'm such an idiot! _

Hancock was gone in an instant. Zoro said nothing and merely strolled in the opposite direction away from the silent crowd.

**AHHH! Cliff hanger… see I would kill the writer if I was reading this… Sorry… it needed to be done. And now you know exactly how she got the burn mark… . Sucks don't it? Again sorry the chapter is kinda short. I don't seem to have the right attention span atm and what not with the stress I have been through but I promise now that it is summer, I'll update more! I SWEAR! LOOOOVE MEEEEE!**

**Anywho let me know whatcha think :D **


	9. Chapter 9

_**Finally I updated! – I hope it's long enough . it's not is it? I'll try to update soon to make up for it being moderate size. **_

_**I really just need to apologize for taking so long to update. Things have been pretty hectic over on my end with university starting at the end of the summer and then there was this big thing with my ex and new boyfriend… Either way all is well now and I am writing again! I never stopped it was just a slow chapter . I decided to make the fic long, so you don't have to be worried about it ending soon… but with uni you might have to wait ages and what not so if you stick with me I give you kudos! **_

_**And yes you may read the chapter now! I will commentate some more at the bottom! **_

**Chapter Nine**

Hancock sat in the empty science room shaking, trying but failing to keep the horrible memories away.

"_Daddy stop! Why are you touching me there?" _

Hancock tightened her grip on her arms and forced her sobbing to still.

"_Get off me! You aren't my father!" _

His hands were everywhere. She couldn't get him off her. Without realizing it Hancock backed up into the wall and she was kicking and screaming but he wouldn't get off. He kept touching and pinching and biting her. He kept making her filthy. No one could love her, not after this. No one would want such a damaged woman. No one would marry her! Zoro took advantage of her with that kiss! How could he do this to her? She trusted him. The first person she trusted with her secret. Did he get seduced by her beauty?

"Stop it! Get off me! Don't touch me! I don't want this! I'm just a normal girl… please…" Hancock's sobbing got louder. "Please… stop!"

"Hancock!"

Strong hands grabbed Hancock's shoulders shaking her out of her trance. Her eyes snapped open and she was met with the worried gaze of the stupid green haired man who kissed her not too long before.

"You're safe here! Calm down"

Zoro pulled her into his embrace and to her own surprise she cried into his chest with an intensity that she hadn't used for years. His arms wrapped around her and she lay there with him in the empty science room for who knows how long. Suddenly it didn't feel like he wanted to be with her for her beauty. It felt like he cared.

"I'm sorry for earlier" Zoro whispered after a long time whilst stroking her hair softly. The only sound in the room was the small sobs from Hancock and their breathing. She looked up at him and Zoro had to admit even with her tear streaked face she was beautiful.

"I wasn't thinking… but don't get the wrong idea! I…"

Zoro took and big gulp and lifted Hancock's chin so she would look at him as he spoke.

"Ignore that it happened Hancock, I care for you deeply so don't feel pressured from me. I won't force anything on you and I will be your friend and support you for as long as you need. I know it is a bit soon for anything else but when you ran away from me earlier… something stirred inside me, it hurt and I felt like I couldn't remember how to breath anymore. I have been running from these feelings for a while now, but I refuse to anymore."

How could Hancock believe him? Was he sincere? He did know her secret and he was one of the only guys who actually hated her in the beginning and seemed unaffected by her beauty…

"I want to be with you, and support you, and save you. I want to save you Hancock, from him!"

Hancock looked up shocked. She felt a whirl inside her stomach and for once she didn't know what to do. She had been confessed to many times before but for once it seemed genuine, Hancock wasn't even sure if this could even be considered a confession at all. Was he saying he liked her? He wasn't… he was saying he wanted to be her friend, and protect her?

"I… I… I don't feel the same… I'm Sorry" Hancock finally said looking away from Zoro in fear of his expression. He merely stroked her hair and gave out a small chuckle.

"This is why I don't get involved with women… I mean it though. I want to help you get away from that man, I don't need anything in return, I just want to save you. Hancock, you deserved to be saved"

Hancock said nothing and lay in his lap longer, her heart seemed to swell and hurt, fresh tears started to fall.

_I deserve to be saved? _

She might have feelings for this man but might wasn't good enough. If she was going to be with him then she needed to know for sure. Also it wasn't like she could be with him anyway. Her stepfather would never allow it. Zoro was strong but what could he do against her stepfather? Nothing really, not with the threats he used. However it was still nice to hear him say he would protect her.

"Are you even listening?"

"Huh?" Hancock looked over to her right to be met with an angry looking Sandersonia. Hancock dipped her head apologetically. She had wanted to be a little more present in the walk back home with her sisters, but too much was on her mind.

Had Zoro really meant he loved her?

"Sister! You're doing it again!"

Hancock dipped her head apologetically again.

"Sorry… I just have other things on my mind"

"That Zoro boy right?" Marigold mused not really looking at either sister. The two could tell Hancock was flustered about something and it was a welcome change that it wasn't over Luffy.

"What? No! Why would I lik… Why would have him on my min… You think I like him?"

"We think he likes you… and he is one of the rare people you actually pay attention to. Sister, have you not noticed yourself how you look at him?"

Hancock felt her face burn at the thought. Had people noticed? Was she that obvious? She knew she was obvious with Luffy but that was different. Zoro and she was such an odd pair, how would they even work?

Sandersonia shrugged and changed the subject. The two knew better than to pry into their sister's life. They knew she had secrets she wasn't willing to discuss and they didn't ask. She was tense enough already and asking about what was bothering her usually made it worse since she always tried so hard to hide it. She never spoke about anything to them; she only ever supported them in their problems. Sometimes they wished she would say something about her life, anything! Because of this it was nearly impossible for them to notice what hardships she went through at home because how little they actually knew her. Hancock let them know the real her but over the years she became good at hiding what she was really feeling about her stepfather, but only about him. How she felt about anyone else was an open book to her sisters. She hated hiding things from them but it was needed for their own safety.

The rest of the walk back was left in comfortable silence. Hancock however felt dread. She hadn't been able to talk to her sister's honestly for so long. She felt like she was hiding herself more and more just so she could keep her stupid secret. She just wished she could tell them so that they could go back to being the friends they used to be.

Zoro sat in his little apartment silently as Ace was eating the left over noodles they had just indulged in. He was staying the night since prom was so close and they had nothing else to do. Easter break had now officially started and they were attempting to make the most of it, however there ended up not being anything to do. He stared up at the ceiling noticing that several cracks stretched over the ceiling and he reminded himself that he had to fix them soon before the landlord noticed and forced him to pay more for his rent to make up for the damage probably caused during the training he wasn't supposed to be doing indoors. The break would be good for him, it meant he could work full time and save up some money but it also meant he wouldn't be able to see… _her_.

Zoro rubbed his hands through his hair. This was way too complicated for him. He didn't know what to do with his feelings and how to help the woman in her predicament. He really couldn't think about being with her unless she was safe from that monster. She would also need time to heal and she didn't even like him.

Zoro got up slowly from his chair. He was fed up with her stepfather. If he could he wouldn't let him touch her anymore, at all and if he so much as tried he would probably break every bone in his body. How could he even have the heart to let her go home? He didn't really see it as his business in the past, but now it was… it was way too complicated.

Ace looked up at Zoro who suddenly stood up, noodles hanging out of the edge of his mouth. He attempted to smile before sucking the remainder of the noodles into his mouth and swallowing loudly.

"What's up?" He asked

Zoro said nothing and groaned softly realizing the stupidity of his plans. What could he do for her? Anything he could think of could very well just back fire and end up making Hancock's life worse. If he beat the guy up he would get himself arrested and then the asshole would take his anger out on Hancock. Now he understood why she felt so bad about dumping the information on him, there wasn't anything he could do as of yet to help her yet he was still intent of getting her to safety and that included her family, even if it was at the expense of himself.

Zoro shook his head in reply and paced to his bed room as if to get something. He couldn't tell Ace the truth but maybe if he mentioned it indirectly he would have some good advice? Ace was his best friend and most trusted companion.

Ace had been Zoro's best friend for as long as he could remember. He was friends with Luffy in the grade below before meeting Ace. They got along well and were in a gang together once. If you really could call it a gang that is, it was just a couple of rebellious teenagers attempting to stop bullying, nothing Zoro was particularly proud of mentioning. Ace was of course around a lot, being Luffy's older brother, or rather adopted older brother. Zoro and Ace got along well from the start and being in the same grade just made it obvious that they should hang out since Zoro didn't really have anyone else. Eventually it was unheard of them being apart. Zoro wasn't one to open up to people so Ace was really the closest friend he had. He would come through for him when he needed him Zoro was sure. Ace was the type of guy that forced himself into your life and Zoro wasn't bothered to get rid of him, he enjoyed the company and the simplicity.

"Hey, Ace?"

Zoro asked not waiting for a reply.

"Hypothetical question here, if you knew someone who was getting raped, frequently but was protecting their family by not saying anything, how could you help them?"

Ace looked up surprised. He could guess right away that it probably had something to do with Hancock considering how he protects her yet hated her not too long ago. However he wasn't going to ask about it. She trusted him enough to tell him and clearly he knew he shouldn't mention it to Ace at all thus feigning ignorance about the situation was probably the best for everyone.

"If I knew someone who was getting raped…? Umm …"

Ace went quiet for a while to think about it.

"Hypothetically speaking, why wouldn't this person be able to say anything?"

"The person raping is the stepfather and he threatened to do the same to the sisters and mother…"

Ace gulped deeply, he knew Hancock wasn't happy but he didn't know she was in that big of a situation. What could be done?

"Tell the police? I think the best option would probably be to oust him. Yes, the family is in danger but would this person really be able to do anything if he is spending a life time in jail? Wait… he would probably vow to come back after prison…"

The two boys sighed heavily. Zoro was relieved that Ace partially knew. He felt terrible about telling him even if hypothetically but he needed help and she needed help. Ace wasn't one to judge. He himself didn't have the most perfect life and Zoro knew he could trust him with his life if he must. That was what was important right now. Hancock would understand hopefully that Ace was the only other person Zoro trusted and if she needed to put her trust in anybody other than him then it would definitely be Ace. If anyone but himself needed to take care of Hancock then it would always have to be Ace.

Hancock was in her room preparing for prom. She put her hair up into a messy bun and was slowly doing her makeup; she was going for simple dark colours to match her dress. Her stepfather had avoided her and the family seemed tense. Hancock was unsure why but decided asking would cause more issues than it was worth, as well as cause her unwanted attention from her stepfather since he was finally leaving her alone. Her mom was the one who was tense. Hancock thus decided not to get involved. She hated her stepfather unconditionally and she wasn't going to let him ruin her day, and whatever her mother was tense about was probably going to ruin her day. The day she was looking so forward to.

She didn't want to admit it but she wanted Zoro to see her in her beautiful dress, it was cruel she knew because she had rejected him but she still wanted him to think she was beautiful. Simple colours would bring her features out strongly. Hancock smiled but quickly frowned again when she could no longer ignore the yelling across the house.

"You don't even touch me anymore Ruyi!" Hancock heard her mother's voice carry over the house. She could hear cracks in the words and knew right away that she had been crying. Personally Hancock hated listening to other people's arguments but when it came to her mother and that demon, she always listened. Just to make sure her mother didn't suspect anything.

"Darling, you know I love you. I have just been really busy with work"

"Bullshit! You're almost always home when I'm not home! I know you can change your schedule but you don't even try. We haven't been the same for years, there is nothing here anymore, and I know you don't love me. If you loved me there would be at least some indication. I stayed with you for the kids but I can't do it anymore"

Hancock cringed at the language, her mother never swore.

"You're like this because there is another woman, isn't it?! I know you do! Is it someone at work? Who is the whore? You know what? She can have you! Because I as hell don't want you anymore!"

Again Hancock cringed. The blood rushed to her head as felt her heart beat loudly in between her ears. What was he going to say? Hancock wanted a black hole to appear in the floor and suck her away. She no longer wanted to listen to this argument but she couldn't tune it out either. She felt her hands tremble and slowly put the makeup brush back onto the desk. She stared at her own reflection and saw the fear obviously plastered over her face. She was so scared he was going to admit what he had been doing to her all these years. Hancock couldn't bear that. She couldn't bear the shame. She much rather deal with it than have her mom look at her differently with pity or even…_hatred_. She wouldn't be able to bear it.

"Honey, there is no one else. There is only you. I love you"

"No. I know the way you look at other woman. I have seen it. We haven't done anything for almost a year now! Did you think I wouldn't notice? Have you brought her home? Have you let her in our bed? It doesn't matter… I don't think I would want to stay with you even if there wasn't another woman so don't even tell me… I would rather save face and not know. I want you out. All we ever do is fight anymore, how is that good for the kids? I want you gone! _Tonight_, Ruyi" It came out as an angry growl and Hancock wasn't even sure she was listening to her mother anymore. She sat shocked. He was leaving? Was her mother kicking the bastard out?

He was leaving!

She was going to get rid of him! Hancock felt so relieved. Her sisters were no longer in danger. She was no longer in danger! What could he do to her when he wasn't even able to get near her again?

If he tried anything now her mother would call the police or something… it would work out right? He wouldn't kill them that was for sure. She knew the man was cold hearted but not that cold hearted.

Shuffling and the sound of her own heartbeat was all Hancock could hear without leaving her room. She didn't move hoping to make out anything faint but her heartbeat was too loud from her excitement. This didn't fix anything really, but it was a relief. A burden lifted. Their relationship or the relationship in the sick mans had spanned from convenience. Was this the end she had dreamed of for so long?

There was no more sound and eventually Hancock stopped straining her ears as a head was starting to settle from her exertion. Hancock slowly applied dark eyeliner at the end of her eyelids making sure not to blink and ruin her efforts. She ended in long elegant swirls and smiled at her reflection pleased with the outcome.

A part of her wanted to look pretty for someone other than herself for once, and she had to start acknowledging it. She blushed at the thought. Zoro wasn't much for physical appearance she knew but even still, she wanted him to think she was beautiful.

Hancock let down her hair pleased with the result of her makeup once done. Her eyes shown under from her pale skin and dark lips. Her smile looking seductive even if she said so herself. She brushed her hair out feeling how long it had gotten. She liked her hair long but the reason for her decision was not as appealing. She wanted to be able to put her hair up whenever she wanted without risk but that was just a dream. Nothing really changed. Hancock still had a secret to hide. It was naïve of her to think everything was fixed because that man was still free and even if she didn't hide the secret because he threatened her, she would hide it for her own pride.

Getting up Hancock slipped her clothes off and shrugged herself into her dress. It wasn't as beautiful as the one her stepfather had gotten her but still she could see it looked stunning on her. It was simple yet elegant. A dark blue colour that glittered in the dark, like the sea.

There were no slits on her thighs but the bottom half of her skirt was loose enough to bellow around her with the slightest movement causing a beautiful ripple as if she was wearing a dress made of water.

The bottom ended just under her knees and went all the way up to her neck. The dark dress ended in a V at her chest however transparent fabric covered her chest in the front and was covered in large straps in the back. The transparent light blue stretched all the way over her arms and formed into large long sleeves that you might see on a wizards robe.

Hancock did a spin and felt the fabric glide over her skin. The dress was great but even still it wasn't as perfect as the other one. It broke her heart that she couldn't wear it and her stepfather would spit in her face like that.

She really hated him, she was glad to see him go.

Pulling on her long dark blue heels, Hancock checked herself out in the long mirror and smiled at her reflection pleased with the results.

As if planned the doorbell rang signalling the arrival of her friends and the arrival of her well-deserved night away from home.

She walked slowly down the stairs, catching a glimpse into her stepfather's office. He sat there looking glum whilst packing up his stuff. He looked up at her and her breath caught but he showed no malice. Just a look of frustration. Hancock smirked ever so slightly, making sure it was unnoticeable. The bastard deserved much worse, he was getting off easy. She wasn't going to pity him.

Opening the door, Hancock smiled at her friends and stepped outside in the cool fresh air only to shortly step into the long black limo with a large smile.

"I'm leaving!"

Marguerite looked pretty in her short dress. It complemented her figure and although she was short, the dress made her look long.

The other girls all looked pretty as well, though not as pretty as her but still good. That was what Hancock loved most about prom; everyone dressed up and had a reason to try.

The limo ride wasn't long and Hancock arrived fashionably late at the most beautiful venue she could have been at. They sipped at tall glasses and chatted about each other's dresses during the ride over and Hancock allowed herself to be fully engrossed with the conversation and for once she felt like a normal girl. She didn't need to be afraid of what was awaiting her at home. She was normal now, living with her two sisters and single mother.

The sky was pitch black except for the bright sparkling lights that were interwoven in every tree they drove past to the front of what looked like a hotel. Lights were flashing from the windows and the girls could already hear the loud music coming from the large Victorian style building.

They stepped out in the cold night again and looked out at the beautiful decorations that cost a fortune no doubt. Flowers decorated every pot and the large wooden door was decorated with doormen to take coats and usher guests into the large dance hall.

Hancock stepped into the room and gasped at how large the hall was. Half was taken by tiny decorated tables, each with a name tag on it. Hancock set off to find hers. The other half of the hall was a large dance floor, where Hancock now realized a variety of music was being played, including slow and fast songs.

Beautiful white roses stood in the middle of each table with little food appetizers and a menu. Prom at this school was a big thing and Hancock was so happy to be here, especially with nothing to worry about anymore.

The hall was loud and many people had already arrived. Hancock spotted her name tag and realized it was next to her friends. She should have known this but anything could have happened.

Looking out Hancock realized that the dance floor was still quite empty, and chose to sit and chat rather than dance right away. She spoke and ate and spoke some more, the food was nice, the conversation was adequate but there was something else she was excited for. She wanted to keep herself from looking for Zoro but eventually she couldn't wait anymore and spotted him almost immediately a few tables away talking to his friends.

Zoro had arrived a while back with Ace and witnessed Hancock's entrance. Zoro had mixed up the times of prom and although they got lost on the way, they arrived perfectly on time and spent the minutes eating and talking. Zoro wasn't one for prom and especially not dancing.

Hancock looked gorgeous Zoro thought, the very idea bringing an uncomfortable heat right under his eyes. The dress was simple but anything else wouldn't have looked so perfect. She was floating around the room it seemed and completely outshined any other women in the hall.

Zoro noticed Ace was also staring and a pang of guilt hit him. Ace was his closest friend and they had never liked the same women before. They had completely different types, though Hancock wasn't at all Zoro's type that was true. He couldn't really help who he fell in love with though. As if Hancock could hear his thoughts she turned and their eyes met. A small smile appeared on her lips making her look even more radiant than before.

Hancock felt butterflies in her stomach twirl and she smiled at the feeling. She wanted to go tell Zoro the good news but she wasn't sure if he would be uncomfortable about her rejection. Her stomach did another flip. She wanted to dance with him.

Zoro watched Hancock get up and walk towards him. Her smile was wide but her eyes seemed nervous. She strolled gracefully but Zoro noticed the uncertainty in her step. He smiled to himself, clearly he knew her well enough to notice even those little things.

"Hi…" She said as she approached. Zoro watched her from his seat, trying his hardest to cover up his smirk.

Hancock noticed it and scowled. This was already hard enough for her.

"Hey" he said back. He looked confident and smug but he was also slightly nervous about this whole encounter. Yes, his pride was hurt from the rejection but he understood that she loved Luffy and couldn't really love anyone because of her problems at home.

"I ugh… I have good news!" Hancock's face suddenly cracked into a large smile and she looked the happiest she had ever looked. He had never seen such a genuine smile and she looked breath taking. Zoro hadn't realized he was silent until she frowned slightly from his lack of response.

In the background a slow song started to play but neither listened closely enough to figure out which song it was.

"I can fill you in during a dance…? I mean you don't have to but… I like to… you know" A large blush took over Hancock's face and she hugged her arms to her chest in a nervous manner that Zoro thought was absolutely adorable.

Zoro got up his suit fitting him perfectly even with his lack of style. It was a normal black suit but the simple style was perfect for his rugged rough features and seemed to smooth him out a bit. He grabbed to hand and gently led her to the dance floor. Hancock was well aware of the stares and that her blush was probably very obvious. This was the first time Hancock was willingly dancing with someone at prom, she preferred alone because no one could dance and she never showed any interest in men beside Luffy. Hancock didn't like Luffy anymore she was sure. She had to let him go anyway.

Luffy was special, he didn't really look at girls so if he was with someone it meant he actually really liked them, and Nami was nice, and pretty… Hancock hated to admit it but they suited each other because Nami took care of Luffy, and vice versa.

Zoro was different, once he knew what he wanted he went for it and he knew he wanted Hancock even if she was in her own words "damaged". To him she was perfect, but she had a difficult life and she had a difficult personality. He looked past that and at her, and her alone. His hand snaked around her waist and he pulled her close holding her hand in his. Her free hand rested on his shoulder, her blush smouldering. Hancock was aware with her heels that she was taller than him but it didn't seem that obvious especially since he had such a large and strong presence.

"So what is the good news?" Zoro asked after a while.

Hancock smiled moving closer into Zoro's arms. She could smell his musky scent and felt her legs go under her. Zoro held her up and didn't ask for an explanation, good thing too because she wasn't sure if she could explain that she was falling for him heavily, although she owed it to him.

"My mother, kicked my stepfather out today. When I get home tonight, he will be gone!" Hancock said softly in an attempt to contain her excitement.

Zoro stopped dancing, and let his arms and jaw drop.

"Are you serious?"

Hancock nodded.

"That's amazing! That's fantastic!" Zoro exclaimed grabbing Hancock and lifting her with a spin. They laughed together and he pulled her close again. She was going to be free! Finally she can start to be happy!

He pulled her into a dance again, their body heat meshing together as their fingers intertwined.

He was so graceful, Hancock felt as he spun her. She felt like she was gliding and it wasn't just because of her dress anymore. There was silence but it was comfortable.

The music changed but it went unnoticed. Hancock suddenly felt uncomfortable. Just because things changed at home doesn't mean she was perfectly ready to move on into something new. Although that didn't stop her from wanting to move on.

"So what happens now?" Zoro asked noticing the dance floor was suddenly full of people.

Not far from them was Robin with her boyfriend Franky that didn't go to the school, as far as Zoro could remember he was an engineer, he also noticed Nami and Luffy. Both couples looked amazing together and Zoro was pretty sure he could see Robin's fan's hearts breaking. She looked graceful and beautiful but Franky looked awkward, even still she looked happy to be with him. The same went for Nami and Luffy, besides the fact that he was eating they looked like they were in their own little world together and that no one could disturb them.

Zoro hoped Hancock hadn't noticed them. It was a pain to have to admit that Luffy was his rival in love, out of all the people that attended that school, why Luffy?

Sanji was flitting about he noticed with all kinds of different women and Ace seemed to be talking to that friend of Hancock which took some stress off his shoulders. Sanji, Zoro knew was not happy with the development that practically all the gorgeous available women in school were "taken".

Hancock watched Zoro as he scanned the room and eventually laid his eyes back on her. They were soft and full of love. She wasn't used to this. He really wasn't the romantic loving type but she soon realized that once he fell in love that he was the sweetest most amazing man she could ever meet. She knew he would wait for her to be ready. She knew he would never do anything she didn't want him to do. He just cared about her, he just loved her…

"I don't know what happens…" Hancock finally replied looking away from him.

Zoro wanted so much to kiss Hancock right now. She was so beautiful, but he wouldn't. They were dancing so close to each other and he didn't want to scare her away. He finally got her to trust him again.

As if reading his mind Hancock moved her hand to rest behind Zoro's head and pulled him gently towards her.

Her lips pressed firmly against his for a few moments and then pulled away again.

Zoro stared at her with shock but also happiness. He was over the moon and without thinking he pulled her close for a more passionate kiss, she let him and didn't pull away. He didn't open his mouth however; he knew it was too soon for that. They kissed for a while and pulled away. He stared at her with a tenderness, sighing with relief that he didn't screw things up by kissing her again.

"What does this mean…?" He asked unsure whether they had progressed somewhere along the line or that she was just high off the happiness that her stepfather was getting kicked out.

"It means…" Hancock started, a giant blush taking over her face.

"That I love you"

Zoro stepped away shocked and stared at her, looking for a hint that she was lying or pulling his leg, but there was just a nervous beautiful girl who was obviously being sincere about her feelings. Hancock took his hands into hers and stared into his eyes.

"I love you Roronoa Zoro, will you be my boyfriend?"

_**I feel you deserved more of my amazing words because I took way too long to update. It's summer so I'll try to work faster. **_

_**I was wondering if I made a twitter or Tumblr or something would you follow me? I mean I would put up previews and updates on it if you want? **_

_**They finally technically got together woooo! :] I hope you like it. I mean things will still be hard but I hope you will continue to stay with me! **_

_**Another thing, if I had like a personal email up or something would you want to talk to me? **_

_**I just want to get to know my readers better so yes review your hearts out and talk to me if you want. **_

_**If you think I've taken too long to update just PM me evil messages about what a horrible person I am :P Just don't be too mean ._. You might make me cry!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter ten**

Walking the halls didn't feel any different really, Zoro had to admit there were a lot more stares but he was used to that. Even before, people would stare at him with fear, now it was something else, jealousy and envy. He didn't care; none would approach him, not with his reputation at least.

Zoro smirked, he wasn't one to care what other people thought, but the whispers of how he tamed the "snake princess" boosted his ego. Nothing really changed, yes they were technically dating but Hancock was still the same as before, she rarely kissed him or showed any affection in public. When they weren't in public he found out she enjoyed sitting in his lap and just quietly listen to his heartbeat. He agreed it was nice, soothing and calming. He felt like they were the only two people that mattered, in those few moments of silence they were just two people who loved each other and neither of them had unfortunate memories or scars. When she did that he felt they were so close that no one would or could rip them apart. Hancock needed time to adjust to them and to adjust to her life now that her stepdad was officially out of the picture. He wasn't going to force her into anything.

He was the same as her really, he had never dated before properly either and wasn't eager to jump into anything. For Zoro, in the past he had, had only sex with women, but he actually loved Hancock and wasn't going to jump the gun. She would feel ready eventually.

There was one other woman he cared for as deeply as Hancock, but she died. He thought that part of him was dead, but here she was, Hancock. She clawed her way into his heart without even intending to.

They spoke about it, Hancock wanted to have sex with someone other than that horrible man but right now sex was a horrible disgusting sin that she wouldn't want to perform for a while. The next time she had sex would be with the man she loved. She needed it to be more than sex; she needed love to make that sinful act normal.

Zoro smiled. No one knew how special Hancock really was. She was amazingly affectionate without really trying or showing it. She cared a lot but hid it with her self-centred veil of deception.

Zoro had told Hancock that he mentioned her predicament to Ace but hypothetically. She was angry about it, telling him it was obvious and he would be stupid not to realize it was about Hancock but after a while and lots of explaining she forgave Zoro for it. She explained that she was alright with him knowing as long as he was the only one and that he would never tell anyone else. Zoro trusted Ace with his life and told her that. A sigh or two later she walked off saying that Zoro could do what he wanted as long as it didn't backfire and that she also didn't want Ace thinking this gave him an excuse to talk to her about it. She rather never talk about it again.

Even though they were dating, she hadn't changed a bit, or she had but he didn't noticed. She was nicer yes, but she was still a brat, but he could put up with it because he loved her, he actually liked that side of her now because he knew why she was like that. When she became very self-centred it was because she was scared. She hated letting people in, and now she had to let Zoro in as well as another person. Zoro could also tell that she was happy about being able to be herself around Zoro and his best friend.

It hurt, knowing Zoro had mentioned it to another person but at the same time Hancock felt relief that Zoro was so worried about her he had looked at all the possibilities. They were lucky that her mother got fed up but Zoro was willing to put himself in danger to save her, Ace apparently would do anything to help Zoro and in turn help her.

Zoro still felt bad however, taking the woman Ace had his eyes on but Ace had said he understood. No one else but Zoro would be able to handle Hancock and her mood swings and selfish acts, except maybe Ace but even still Zoro didn't want to give her up. He loved her more each day; the more she opened up to him the more he wanted to know about her. She was so different than what anyone else saw at school. Zoro saw this and apparently Ace saw this as well, but he promised to only try to take Hancock from him if she seemed unhappy. Zoro wasn't going to make her unhappy.

It had already been a month or so since prom and he had been round her house a couple times, never staying the night however. Her mother was lovely and like Hancock pointed out, she was a lot happier with the stepfather out of the picture. Hancock mostly visited Zoro. It was easier. He lived alone and she just seemed more comfortable. They didn't do anything but the comfort for Hancock came from being away from her family. She felt guilty because she was technically the reason her mother's husband paid no attention to her mother. She loved her family to much and was ashamed because of what happened. She could never let them know, the shame would be unbearable.

Hancock once spoke about her real father, surprising Zoro. She had never mentioned him before and he had assumed he was dead. She had never met him but wanted to. Unlike with her sisters, to Hancock her stepfather was never a father figure and thus she had never had one. She was hoping her real father would step in and be one.

Hancock did feel different. She was happier, her stepfather was gone and she was finally true to her own feelings for Zoro. They didn't kiss much that was true but she really felt like she needed to get her stepfather out of her head. It wasn't as simple as him just needing to leave. She still needed to conceal her back and it was still a constant reminder of what he had done to, which was his objective all along.

A weekend or so ago Zoro had volunteered to rub her scars with this cream he had bought. There was vitamin E in the cream which should apparently help, she was unsure but gave him the go ahead.

He was gentle but his first touch sent her body into an involuntary spasm. He hushed her gently and continued on, the roughness of his hands calming her down because her stepfather didn't have such hard rough hands like Zoro. Most people would probably prefer a guy with soft hands, but the fact that Zoro had course hands was really relaxing for Hancock and kept her mind of things.

He rubbed the cream in the bigger scars causing the jagged lines to form together a little better. The scars remained but she could feel that they were starting to heal again. Heal better.

Zoro had warned her that it wouldn't make the scars go away but it would lighten them and maybe one day make them unnoticeable. Hancock hoped he was right but the fact that he was trying made her happier then she thought she could be.

She was very emotionally damaged but it felt as if Zoro was picking up all the pieces of her ruined past and fitting them together perfectly.

Hancock spotted Zoro across the hall and made her way to him, now that they were dating, every morning she would come over and say hello. It wasn't much but for them it was what they needed. Neither of the two were like the average person and therefore this was the closest they would get without feeling uncomfortable. Normal couples would run to each other in the mornings and sucks each other's faces till the bell went but they preferred talking and leaving such things to when they were alone, but that kind of affection was rare even then.

Even with all that, just seeing Zoro lifted Hancock's heart and made her happy. She finally felt like she mattered and that there was someone who truly cared about her. Zoro felt like Hancock was a breath of fresh air, different from all the girls he knew. Don't get him wrong, on the outside she was worse than all the other girls but he knew that she was caring and passionate and very earnest.

_She looks beautiful today_

Zoro thought smiling at Hancock.

"How was your weekend?" Hancock asked with a smile mirroring Zoro. She stood a few steps from Zoro and made no move to kiss him or even hug him. Physical touches weren't what she wanted or needed right now, but just talking to each other honestly was good enough right then. Zoro of course thought about her in a sense he didn't want to admit to her but he would wait until she was ready because he was a gentlemen.

Since they started officially dating Zoro was happy to know he was actually able to concentrate in the dojo again, he suddenly had his drive again. He thought about her more than he would like during his lessons but at least his rage was in check and he felt like his life was going back to normal. No more stressing about the stupid woman. He knew he could keep her safe now.

Hancock finally was able to open up to people again. Not fully but at least her smiles were starting to become real. Some were still forced when she remembered what she had put up with so long, it felt so surreal as if it was all just a bad dream that she woke up from.

The type of dream that was disturbing enough to sit with you for days, except Hancock knew it wasn't a dream; her scars were proof of that ugly truth.

Zoro cocked his head at Hancock in reply to her question. They had spent the weekend together doing homework. Zoro wouldn't admit it but dating Hancock actually helped his grades. She forced him to do his homework; he may even get to quit his after school classes to keep him from failing. Hancock smiled in return and stroked his arm lightly before moving on to her own locker.

He was lucky to have her and she him.

_**Okie Dokie! Short chapter I know, I'm sorry! It's just a little short thing to show you how they are getting on before I get back to the proper story etc. You know ;) The story isn't done yet. Be afraid! Be very afraid! Muahaha! **_

_**I mean I don't want to spoil anything but I might you know… kill your feels soon . **_

_**Well I decided because sometimes I get personal messages, which I love! Asking when I update and what not so I have set up my twitter account, to give you updates and sneak peeks to when I'll update. Also that way you can give me ideas or tell me if I wrote an utterly crap chapter this week so I can fix it. Also all my twitter followers and get the chapters sooner! ;) So come follow me now!**_

_** /kuyomim**_

_**Now yes, thank you for reading. Beware for the next update ;)**_


	11. Chapter 11

**Ah! Hello my readers 3 thank you for getting this far and waiting for me to update. Sorry it took so long. Just got to uni and such and was getting my computer fixed :/ Anyway good luck with this chapter… I really apologize for it . and I promise to update soon so you don't go too crazy about it…. LOVE YOU! Please don't kill me . **

**Chapter Eleven**

Pretending to be too busy with her phone, Hancock strolled through the hall trying her best to ignore all the stares. Zoro didn't care since he got stares all the time. Hancock did as well but usually they were of admiration. Stares of longing and disappointment were new.

She wanted so badly to just turn around and yell at everyone to get a life. It wasn't as if half of them ever had a chance anyway! They never even attempted to speak to her. Luffy was the first…

Then it was Zoro. Thinking about how they met angered Hancock slightly and caused to her release a huge sigh. About a year had gone by since they had first met at that stupid party. Hancock was such a bitch, she knew she was.

She sighed heavily again. She never really had the right to poor that drink on his head… and seeing him come out of a room with that pink haired bimbo! It just made him look sleazy… Did he ever actually go through with it? Hancock remembered him saying he hadn't so she believed him… though at the time he didn't really have to tell her the truth did he?

Frowning, Hancock told herself off. It was in the past either way. It wasn't like she was a virgin either… but it wasn't her fault! She had only ever been with one man, regrettably she had tried quite a few times to get with other men just to erase those filthy memories from her head but she couldn't go through with it ever.

Hancock suddenly stopped walking and created fists at her side.

_Stupid bastard!_

Grunting loudly and swinging her fists at her side Hancock shook her head and continued walking. It was all behind her now. She needed to focus on forgetting him. The nightmares would linger still but her family seemed to take her stepfathers excuses about them. There were nights where she would scream and shout for him to get off her, the heaviness of his body all over her but when she woke up in a cold sweat she was alone in her room. Soft knocks at her door alerted her that people had heard her fits of fear. Never had she opened the door. The deep gruff voice of her stepfather would always interject and tell them it's because of her new insomnia medicine or she was under a lot of stress at school. How could her family not know? At least her mother would have known right? Eventually her door got changed to a sound proof door, one that didn't alert the family of her screaming, one that allowed her stepfather to make as much noise as he wanted, and one that alienated her even more than she already was separating her from her family and making her feel like she would never have the chance to tell them about the horrors she had been put through. Slowly the nightmares were becoming worse, now that the threat of him being in the house was gone, the fear of him returning got worse. Hancock felt dread twist at her stomach whenever she was alone, something she didn't allow herself to be a lot. Would she ever really heal?

Zoro was the only person keeping her sane right now, the fact that he knew everything about her was the biggest relief ever, bigger then she could ever imagine it could be. She never knew that it was a weight that was crushing her and now Zoro was helping her keep it up, reminding her every day that she was safe now and that he was never going to let that bastard touch her again.

He was gone now yet she was too embarrassed to tell her family. Shame kept her secret locked in the dark parts of her heart where she hoped to never need to mention it again. Four years this had been going on and now she needed to learn to get over it.

"You seem to be thinking deeply" Zoro said hitting her lightly on her shoulder to pull her out of her trance.

"Oh! Hi…" Hancock smiled widely causing Zoro to blush besides himself, she rarely smiled properly but when she did…

"I was just thinking how much we've been through since we met properly. I mean it was pretty hectic wasn't it?"

Zoro nodded thinking about their past as well. They definitely went through some things that were unusual.

"I didn't think I would go through so much effort for a moron like you!" Zoro exclaimed quietly with a smirk on his face.

Hancock glared at the man with disgust.

"How dare you…" With a smile she hit him right on the top of his head with a force that was probably going a little too far if it was anyone but this guy.

"Bitch!"

"You deserve it!"

The two stared at each other with anger but then simultaneously cracked into wide smiles. Hancock laughed beside herself and how comfortable things were between them. How perfect it felt. Nothing bad could affect them now.

Zoro grabbed Hancock's hand and brought it tenderly to his lips forcing her face and neck to go bright red. He was sweet when he wanted to be but this was all new for Hancock and she had trouble dealing with it. Even still she enjoyed the affection that felt genuine unlike the sickly affection she would get from her stepfather. This affection didn't make her cringe in disgust and fear what was going to happen next.

Hancock and Zoro walked down the hall together for a little while before Zoro had to pull away from her for his next lesson. Hancock wasn't alone but without him she definitely felt like it. No one knew her. They knew the façade that she put up for the world to see. Letting someone in was painful but it sure as hell felt better then only ever being seen as the perfect woman who never had any blemishes in her life. The worst was that people resented her because they thought that she got anything she ever wanted. Well she would trade he life with anyone else's if she had the choice.

Even with her anger at the people who knew nothing, she still kept them at a distance. Who besides Zoro would love her after they knew? She didn't need their pity. They had no idea what she was going through, either way it would be a shallow love for something she couldn't control.

Heading off to class Hancock sat in the back as usual not paying all too much attention. Whilst on autopilot she took as many notes as she could without her hands cramping and speaking when cued to do so. No one would have known she wasn't paying attention. She had, had years of practice to perfect her autopilot because her stepfather loved her paying attention whilst he ruined her.

"Are you truly happy with him" One of the girls near Hancock asked whilst the teacher was distracted.

Hancock showed no alarm to the question but inside she was very surprised at the tone of voice used, as if her being with Zoro was the worst decision ever, there was jealously as well as a tone that told Hancock that the girl thought Hancock was too good for Zoro.

"Yes, I am happy with him" She replied matter of factly never looking up from her notes.

Why should she need to tell anyone anyway, it was her life!

The rest of the class she spent ignoring the rude girl but she just kept trying to strike up a conversation

"How did you get close to him?" she asked again.

"Why do you care?" Hancock responded no longer caring about being nice. This girl was getting on her nerves and she could realize that whoever it was she had never spoken to her before.

"You know I had him first"

A flash of pink and a few seconds passed before Hancock lifted her head and had a good look at the girl who was being way too rude for her liking. She was finally happy and someone had to go and be a bitch about it.

Hancock set her lips in a hard line unable to hide her obvious anger. She recognized the girl. She knew also that this particular girl didn't go to the school and obviously didn't attend this class. She snuck into her class to do what…? Piss her off?

"I've been working on getting with him for a while, and then your whore ass butts in and gets in the way, what did you do to get him? You know he doesn't keep the girls he fucks for long, unless you're me"

With a smile she pushed one long curly pink pigtail behind her shoulder. Her smile wasn't beautiful at all because it contained resentment as well smugness.

"We still text you know" She went on

"So why did you want him hmm? Is it because you saw him leaving the room after he fucked me?"

Hancock was slowly brimming with anger. Who did the bitch think she was? And why was no one questioning her being in the class. It was obvious she was too old for the class! What the fuck was this?!

"If he really did like you or likes you, why is he with me?" Hancock said cooly looking towards the board in the front of the class. Being nonchalant about everything was her specialty. She would win nothing by showing the bitch she was angry. He said they never had sex…

The girl sat silent for a while obviously not expecting a calm comeback.

"He is just waiteng till he gets out of school! He is mine!"

"How can you stake your claim over anybody?! How dare you! He is his own person!" Hancock said in a harsh whisper, not trusting herself to yell.

"You Bi-"

As if on cue the bell went for the end of class and Hancock realized she could get away from the pink haired bimbo who was obviously in love with Zoro but didn't know how to handle him dating anyone else, even with knowing all this Hancock felt the knot in her stomach twist as she watched the bitch leave the classroom. She was probably going to look for Zoro.

_No… I need him! I love him…_

Hancock huffed and gathered her stuff quickly. Attempting to find Zoro first was what she needed to do, but what was she going to say?

Rushing out with her back on her left shoulder she ran down the hall quickly. Her hair flying behind her. She looked like a raven gliding through air as she darted between people.

No one had ever seen her so flustered at school and they parted as if she was on fire letting her through with no resistance what so ever.

At the end of the hall she spotted him but to her dismay the pink haired girl was leaning against his locker. He looked frustrated and clearly didn't want to talk to her, seeing him like that made the knot in Hancock's stomach loosen and warm up, he clearly loved her over the pink haired girl.

She smiled and slowed her stride, casually strolling up to her boyfriend.

"Hey honey" She purred when she reached his side.

The pink hair girl scowled at the interruption.

"Have you told her?" the girl said to Zoro as if Hancock wasn't even there.

"Shut up Perona!" Zoro said through gritted teeth.

Hancock felt as if she had been punched. He was keeping something from her…

"Well she needs to know… Did you know dear… what was your name again? Handjob?"

"Perona!" Zoro warned grabbing the girl by her wrist and attempting to pull her away

Hancock glared at Perona and said nothing. It was clear she knew her real name and was just attempting to piss her off. The fact that Zoro was touching her sent electricity through her body, her blood boiled with searing pain.

"Did you know…?" Perona stepped forward placing her hand gently on Zoro's shoulder but he shrugged her off roughly.

"That your _boyfriend _has fucked me on multiple occasions… and asked me out once? I said no… but now I wish I had said yes… I wonder, who would he choose?"

A load roaring was all Hancock could hear. Zoro was obviously saying something to her but she couldn't hear him. This was worse than the physical pain she had to endure for so long. Zoro, the first man she had properly decided to trust had betrayed her… had lied to her. She may have been overreacting but she had been hurt so many times before. She was fragile.

Turning away from Zoro, Hancock steadily walked in the other direction unable to stop the tears from falling. If Zoro was following her she wasn't sure. She was too distraught to turn around and check. Was she really unlovable?

Zoro called after her but she didn't seem to hear. He tried explaining to her that he didn't mention this because he didn't want her to overreact like she was right at that moment.

He stepped forward in an attempt to run after her but Perona caught his arm.

"Forget about her! I'm ready to be with you now" She said with a smirk on her face obviously expecting him to pick her over Hancock.

"Fuck off bitch! If you think anything will ever happen between us again then sadly you are mistaken!"

Shoving Perona a little too hard out of the way Zoro made his way after Hancock. He didn't see what direction she went so on instinct he ran to the science lab she decided to hide in the last time she ran from him. He could hear Perona yelling behind him but he didn't care, he needed to find the only woman he had ever loved.

"Fuck you! You are missing out! You would have been lucky to have me" She yelled through the halls.

Running to the door he pushed it open only to be rewarded by a surprised looking freshmen science class and a spluttering teacher who was terrified of Zoro ever since his own freshmen year. He had the decency to apologize and run back out in search for the stupid woman who really needed to get this flight thing out of her system because he really didn't know how to deal with the woman when she ran from him.

The only place he could think of looking for her was the dojo, either the room itself or maybe the locker room where he had originally discovered her secret.

Zoro ran as fast as he could in the direction of the dojo, and managing to bump into several people. He was no longer patient enough to apologize to the unfortunate people that were in his way and continued running.

Pushing the giant doors open he jumped into the dojo. Empty.

He ran towards the locker rooms and knocked feeling that if other people were in there, that he would earn himself a false title. No answer.

He slowly opened the door to find the locker room too was empty.

_Where is she? _

Zoro stood stunned for a few moments. Did he not know her well enough to guess where she would have run to?

Being pulled out of his thoughts Zoro pulled out his vibrating phone and checked the messages he had just received.

_**Help! **_

_**He came back!**_

Zoro stared at his phone and dropped it as if it had just burned him.

_Hancock… no! _

Grabbing his phone off of the floor again Zoro ran towards the front gates of the school.

Dialling as if it was second nature Zoro found himself getting a constant messaging service from Hancock's phone and eventually a message telling him her phone was switched off.

_Fuck! I promised to protect her!_

Before even making it to the empty parking lot and not finding a trace of her he dialled the police, his voice shaky and broken.

"911 emergencies how can we help you?"

"I think my girlfriend just got kidnapped" He said collapsing at the front doors of the school. He didn't care who saw him. His worst nightmare had come true.

"I couldn't protect her… it was my fault"


	12. Chapter 12

**Ah shit! Hey guys! Its been freaking forever! I know… god I suck… sorrrrryyy. It's just I've been so busy at uni… you know actually trying to pass… heheh. Also I had writers block for a while. I mean I knew what I wanted to write but there were so many ways I could do it, and it was hard to pick! So I decided to do what would be most fun to write! But too be honest it was hard! Cause I want certain things to happen… but it is too soon! Real life doesn't happen that fast xD Anyway… enjoy. I'll put more commentary at the end!**

**Chapter Twelve**

Hancock woke up in a dark damp room. The cold bit at her bare arms and legs. She couldn't understand why it was so cold. She was lying on something hard, a bed maybe? She wasn't sure. Her eyelids were heavy and it took her a while to be able to open them but when she did it was pitch black. She tried shifting to get a better look but pains shot out from different parts of her body warning her not to move, she decided to just shut her eyes and wait for the pain to dull.

It must have been hours later because when Hancock opened her eyes again she could see a small slit of light where she assumed the door was. This time she left her eyes open long enough to realize she was in a room, before her head was too fuzzy to make the connection. There were no windows, but there was furniture, or at least she saw shadows of what may be furniture. She was also lying on top of something, probably a bed but it was difficult to tell since it was so hard. There were no sheets and Hancock was reminded that she was cold. Her arms and legs were bare… Where were her clothes?! Luckily she could feel she was still wearing her lingerie… Hancock tried once more to get up or sit up to get a better look at her confinement but again her body protested. Her limbs felt heavy and hurt every time she was forced to move them even slightly. She closed her eyes again.

This time Hancock was awoken by the pain in her stomach. Her body was telling her she must eat soon and her need to urinate was the worst of all. She shuffled herself to the end of what was probably the bed, afraid to move too much in case her limbs protested violently again. Getting to the end she realized she was indeed on a bed that was off the ground, meaning that if she wanted to relieve her screaming bladder, she would have to move.

Shifting her arms slowly she was able to avoid the sudden pain but the dull ache was still uncomfortable. Her legs weren't as forgiving to her moving and she gritted her teeth in agony.

"Why am I so bruised?" She whispered to herself as she got herself into a sitting position with her feet hanging off the side of the bed. Her feet touched the floor gingerly and it sent cold chills down her spine. Pushing onto the bed Hancock attempted to stand up only to meet the floor with her temple after her legs gave out.

When Hancock awoke again her roaring bladder gripped at her in pain and begged to be relieved. She was in the bed again and this time and she had a duvet draped across her. She tried once more to get up off of the bed and this time she was rewarded with a triumphant, although slightly shaky feat.

The room was bigger than she expected. She wasn't entirely sure what everything was because it was so dark but she assumed the big rectangular object at the end of the room was probably a wardrobe, and the object next to it was probably a desk. The slit where she assumed the door was still had the light shining through and next to it was a shape she couldn't comprehend. A chair maybe?

Hancock shifted one foot towards the weird chair and felt stinging pain run up her thigh. She shifted her other foot and again searing pain. Gritting her teeth she made her way to the chair and touched the top lightly smiling to herself when she realized it was a toilet. She didn't waste any time to take control of the pains she could stop.

Having a toilet in the room was weird but right now she was definitely not complaining. Clearly this room was set up for her if there was a toilet… that was safe to assume she thought.

Getting up again Hancock ignored her aches and made her way to the shadow she thought was a desk. Indeed it was and on top of it she felt a book. She couldn't figure out which one so she gave up and moved to what she thought was a closet. By now her eyes had adjusted enough that she could see what was in the room but not with very much detail. The room was bare, with a bed, desk, wardrobe and toilet. Very much like any prison she had heard of read about.

She couldn't remember how she had gotten here, and with no clothes on. She knew obviously who had done it but not how and where all her aches had come from… Even during the rape she was never this bruised. From the kidnapping… Though she really couldn't remember much about it.

Her stomach screamed out in hunger again, she must have been here a while if she was already excruciatingly hungry. She wondered if she would get fed… but that would mean the bastard was going to come to that room. She would rather die!

Die… She would rather kill herself… she could kill herself!

Hancock searched the room for something sharp. Something quick. She saw nothing. She looked at the toilet again and slowly made her way to it. Maybe if she could break the lid the plastic would be sharp enough to cause harm, but there was no lid, she could probably just bite her tongue off. Thinking about it again, she might be rescued. She couldn't do that to the people she loved. She couldn't kill herself. Biting of her tongue meant she really would want to die, because of how difficult and how much it would hurt, but she didn't have it in her… she wanted to live.

Tears stung at the edges of Hancock's eyes, it wasn't fair! She would rather die than have that horrible man touch her, yet she couldn't do it. She wanted to live to see Zoro again.

_Zoro… _

Her heart ached when she thought of him. Just a way to go, after a stupid fight. It was like a stupid clichéd movie. Let's just hope this was going to have a happy ending like most movies.

Walking or more shuffling back to the bed Hancock let herself gently drop back onto the hard surface. What was she going to do? The bastard would come visit her eventually.

Rubbing her arms against the chill of the room Hancock came across a ragged stitching in her arm and a small tube or injection device pressed into the stitches.

"What the fuck?" She whispered tugging at it gently.

Suddenly and without warning her mind went fuzzy and she felt her head hit the bed hard and caused the edges of her eyes to go dark before she closed them completely.

Hancock again woke up probably hours later. Hoping this was the last time she would pass out for no reason, she didn't move but shifted her eyes around the room. The light was on but she didn't see anyone. Shifting her head slightly to get a better look around the room now that she could actually see caused a large groan from deep within her throat. Her head was pounding horribly and her previous aches seemed to be even worse than before.

"The Benzodiazepine that I used on you doesn't seem to go well with your body I see. It's a sedative, so whenever you do something to try to get away or something I don't like then you will be injected and pass out." His voice was lacy and caused Hancock to physically feel sick to her stomach.

Sliding off the bed slowly, Hancock crawled to the toilet, though more dragging, using her arms which stung less to pull herself across the floor in the most degrading manor. Her throat burned and her stomach twisted in knots. She hadn't seen him yet but her vision was blurry. If she followed her ears she would assume he was near what she assumed was the desk. Grabbing hold of the toilet, Hancock wretched into it with a force that made her throat disobey with pain, emptying her stomach of only water, Hancock sat there for a while just waiting it to stop. She really needed food soon, especially if she was going to wretch more often, dry heaving was the worst.

Turning slowly and leaning against the toilet after flushing, the farthest place from that man in the room, Hancock looked up at him with angry eyes.

_How could he do this to me?! _

"Welcome Hancock" He said with a sickly smile.

He looked older, with more wrinkles as if he had been stressing or not sleeping at all.

"Where are we?!" Hancock whispered with narrowed eyes.

"Oh if I told you that… where would the fun be? You don't need to know. You aren't ever leaving, when I'm done with you I'll kill you, then I'll kill myself"

Hancock stared at him in dismay.

_What?_

"Why do you look so shocked? You got kidnapped a week ago after I got kicked out of the house, you probably told that green haired boy as well, people are going to make the connection and eventually spot me whether I want them to or not, but for now we still have plenty of time to have fun sweetie. I won't take the life of that beautiful body of yours unless I really need to, besides I love it when you _react_!"

"I'd rather die" Hancock hissed.

"Speaking of which…" her stepfather continued pointing up to the corner of the room where Hancock spotted what looked like a camera, she wasn't too sure though since her eyes were still blurry.

"That my dear, is a camera. You do anything stupid like even touch the injection on your arm and I will make you pass out. You will lose a lot of your day if you keep doing that, plus it intensifies pain… don't want that do we? You've been here for almost a week already sweetie, but it doesn't feel like that does it? The only indication is your hunger isn't it? So if I were you I wouldn't keep passing out." His usual smirk was in place as her looked at Hancock with smouldering eyes.

This was different than usual. Normally he was turned on with her but he did like her cooperation, she always knew that he was sadistic yet he didn't want it feeling like proper rape, so he made her work by blackmailing her but now, he just didn't seem to care. He was a man that lost his family because of his carnal desires so instead of ignoring them or at least keeping them under control, he was clearly now going to do with Hancock all that he ever wanted to do. She would probably die in the process because of that look on his face.

Hancock felt true fear deep down in the pit of her stomach as she imagined what the next few weeks, months or even years were going to be like. She couldn't wait for people to find her, because her stepfather was going to kill her when they got close. She needed to get away on her own, before he even tried anything.

The man started towards Hancock, forcing her to back away however he didn't touch her.

"I'll get you some food now, don't want you dying on me too soon now" He said with a wink before leaving Hancock alone in the room again. She heard the lock shift and knew she was stuck in that room till he came back. A few moments later the light turned off and Hancock was surrounded by darkness.

The room was plain from what she saw in the light, just a bed, and the other things she had discovered in the room whilst in the dark. Why turn off the light if there is a camera? Probably night vision?

Having nothing to do Hancock sat down on the bed and tested her limbs, stretching them as far as she could without overly hurting herself. She had a few bruises yes, but it was obvious that most of the pain and stiffness came from that stupid injection that was placed into her arm.

It felt like hours had passed when her stepfather returned with her 'meal' if you could call it that even. Getting fries and she assumed what was a burger from the closest fast food restaurant was not feeding her at all, but she was starving and really couldn't complain. Apparently she hadn't eaten or drunken anything for four days…

Placing the food by her feet and throwing her a big bottle of water, he left the room, locked the door and turned off the light. Eventually however he would come for her in the sense he always did. She didn't know what she would do if that time came.

Grabbing the bottle of water first, Hancock swigged down as much as she could before she needed to come up for air. It filled her stomach quickly and quenched her thirst. Next she dug into the bag of food, grabbing handfuls of fries and whatever else was in there. She ate so fast she couldn't really taste anything but felt better after.

Leaving half the bottle of water and food, she hid it under her bed for another time she was hungry. She didn't know when her stepfather would have the decency to feed her again.

Feeling fully fed finally, Hancock easily dozed off for more hours. When she awoke she had no idea if it was even the same day anymore. She was completely out of it and knowing if it was day or night had become the least of her problems.

Looking around the dark room, Hancock sighed and made her way to the toilet again to relieve her daily bodily functions.

Unlocking sounds came from the door and Hancock knew what was about to come. Hoping off the toilet and pulling up her underwear back up, she leaped towards the bed forcing her still sore limbs to punish her with blinding pains that came in rolling waves.

The light switched on before the door opened and Hancock was blinded right away. Closing them, she waited for her eyes to get used to the sudden brightness however when she opened them they were still blurry.

There in the doorway she could see shape, her stepfather no doubt. She couldn't really see details but he was walking towards her with something in his hands. What was it?

The closer he got the more she could see, clothing was what he was holding and he threw it on the bed next to her. On his face she noticed a malicious smile and the smouldering look he usually had when he was about to do something to her body.

_No!_

She screamed in her head. She no longer really needed to protect her secret from her family, and her sisters were clearly not the ones he wanted. In the past she was so against telling people because part of her thought it was her own fault. That if she had tried harder then he wouldn't have wanted to do this. After meeting Zoro, Hancock realized it wasn't her fault; it was completely her stepfathers disgusting desires driving his criminal acts.

She no longer had a reason to comply with the bastard, this was it. If she was going to die, then she wasn't going to let him touch her again. It was true, she really didn't want to die, but he wasn't going to kill her just yet. If she got the chance then she was going to get out of there.

Zoro would find her… or at least make sure it wouldn't happen to her sisters.

He looked at her, or more watched her as she attempted to cover up her body. His eyes were like spiders crawling up her skin and sent shivers up and down her spine. He was disgusting. Never again would she let him touch her in the way he used to. He was no longer going to be touching her, never again. If he was, it would be over her dead body.

He walked towards her slowly revelling in the expressions her beautiful face made. From anger to fear and back again. The girl clearly couldn't make her mind, she clearly wasn't sure whether she was afraid of him or not. He felt this was the wrong decision. She needed to be afraid. Very afraid.

He sneered as his shins lightly hit the end of the bed. Only a few spaces separated the two. Hancock pressed up against the wall attempted to glare at the horrible man. If only looks really could kill, it would save her a lot of problems. Reaching his hand over, he placed it on the mattress only a hairs breath from her shivering leg.

Taking a deep breath Hancock looked the evil man in the face, he was a lot stronger than she. So, if he got angry… he would kill her. He said he was going to do that anyway. He no longer had the leverage over her that he used to. Hancock's family was no longer his hostage when it had come to this. So if it was only her dying, there would be no guilt at least.

Slowly she felt his cold slimy hands make their way onto her bare leg. Gripping her slightly to alert her that he indeed was touching her now and that she wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Over the years he didn't just physically abuse her, he mentally destroyed all her barriers so in the end she had nothing left to fight him with. The physical pain she could deal with, a couple hours of pain and eventually it would dull, however the psychological pain never properly dulled and if it did, it was a long time after.

Hancock took a big gulp and shifted her leg away from her stepfathers touch. He didn't move to grab hold of her. Waiting patiently for what she was planning to do. She wasn't surely going to fight him now, was she? It had been years since he started their relationship, never once except for maybe a few weeks in the beginning did she fight him. Not after he killed her rabbit and placed it on her bed. His warning to her that he wasn't too afraid to take measures if she struggled, and at the time she was too young to fully understand that he was practically powerless if she went to the police. After a while she just couldn't anymore out of shame.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" She hissed pulling her legs into herself. She didn't want to make herself look smaller; however she also didn't want any part of her body near the creep and give him some sort of a chance.

He moved towards her again, this time quicker. Grabbing a hold of her leg roughly and digging his nails into her skin, keeping her still and making her regret her decision to fight back, but only slightly.

"Are you sure you want to do this, _love_?" he hissed back in an equally angry tone. It was true he went through all the trouble to kidnap her, so he probably really wasn't in the mood for her to finally have grown a backbone.

Taking another big gulp, Hancock nodded as she pried his fingers of her leg, leaving nice red half-moon shapes on her calf from his nails.

Without warning, Hancock felt pain flare up from her check where she realized she had been slapped roughly. Tears spare at the edges of her eyes but she refused to let them fall, her sheer willpower kept them in as she glared at the man.

"Bad mistake sweetheart" he purred, his eyes smouldering. It was disgusting to think that her fighting back was turning him on. Hancock regretted checking but indeed there he was looking very restricted in his oddly casual jeans.

Making his move once more, he rested his hand lovingly against Hancock's face, caressing the cheek he had slapped so viciously moments before, making her sick to her stomach with his fake affection. Turning away from his hand and glaring some more, Hancock shifted off the bed away from him, feeling she had more authority whilst standing.

Looking her over, Ruyi realized how attractive this girl really was; it reminded him why he went crazy and ended up ruining his own life so he could be with her. Be with her… this isn't really being with her but he knew that she hated him and this was the best he could get. Which was fine, he didn't really want her emotional issues anyway. She was just a slutty bitch who was going to give his body pleasure, and then he would kill her. He enjoyed it more when she fought back. He wanted her for her body and that was it. In the end he didn't see the girl as human.

Yes, he loved it when she fought back because he believed she couldn't really do anything to him. Hancock, to him was just a weak teenage girl whom he would steal her adolescence and make her wish that she was going to die soon. She wasn't going to get away no matter how hard she tried.

"I don't think you should fight this" He purred to which Hancock made no answer. They both knew the other wasn't going to give up, so now it was a case for whose spirit broke first. Ruyi was pretty confident it wasn't going to be him.

Moving forward for the last time, he grabbed Hancock by the back of the neck and jerked her chin up to look at him. His evil smile spread across his face with triumph.

"You. Belong. To. Me." He hissed silently.

**HELLO! SO HOW WAS IT? I hope not too bad? . I tried to make the chapter really long but that too was hard, because it's too soon for certain things to happen and I don't want to make the chapter boring you know? I hope you enjoy it. I hope to update soon but… It's been busy. Got the holidays soon though so hopefully then! For now enjoy and stuff… maybe read my other works… Imprisoned is also angsty if you are into that kind of thing.**

**ALSO! If you are getting impatient, I have a fanfic twitter where I update and post sneak peeks to my fanfics… **

** Kuyomim – Check me out… might be worth your while! **

**Thank you for sticking with me all this time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey! I'm so so so so sorry it's been so long since I have updated! Things have been so hectic for me at university and I'm going to America for an exchange and to be honest I had writers block for the longest time… still kind of do but I powered through! I know this chapter in kind of short but that is because I had no idea what to write for Zoro, since what can the partner of someone who was kidnapped really do?**

**Anyway enjoy what I wrote! :P I'll have another note at the bottom!**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Zoro wasn't sure how long it had been and it was frustrating just how powerless he really was in the situation. The bastard, Ruyi had disappeared with the love of his life, yet he realised it way too late, in situations like this there are no do overs. He needed more time with her. Yet that time he was promised was now uncertain. He needed the time that he casually thought was his by right, to find out if they were destined to be together, to do human things and feel human emotions. Now that she was gone, it was now or never. This wasn't something you just come back from and pretend your relationship hasn't changed. He was sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her now, otherwise it wouldn't have been so painful to lose her. In a normal situation he probably wouldn't have realised how amazing she was just yet.

He wanted to believe everything was still fine, that she would come back to him, but the longer it took the more the police warned the family to prepare themselves for the worst possible outcome. Something he just couldn't let himself feel or think.

Every time they thought they were getting closing to finding Hancock… it always just ended up being a dead end, somewhere she might or might not have been before being moved. It was so frustrating for him and he believed he was going to go insane. With fear for the worst but also that even if they do find her… would she be the same girl, would she want to continue living? Or would he have finally destroyed that human half of hers that attempted to cling to the hope Ruyi always failed to destroy. Would she still want to be with Zoro? Or would he remind her of the horrible trauma she was currently living?

Was it selfish to fear the rejection? He wasn't so sure. He of course would understand why she would no longer want to be with him but still, it wasn't exactly an outcome he preferred. There was something special between them and when Zoro found her, he would prove it to her.

She no longer had a reason to let him do anything, her sisters were safe, her only reason now was to preserve her own life but what scared Zoro the most was that he wasn't so sure what she would pick. The sweet release of death, or would she hang on to life with the small chance that Zoro might actually save her from that monster. But the chance wasn't small, Zoro would always continue looking.

Was she still alive? And if so, for how long? Why was the fucking police so incompetent?! Thought Zoro every day. He helped as much as he could in the search but they didn't exactly let him and consoling Hancock's family was already hard enough, especially consoling her mother.

Her mother blamed herself mostly for everything that happened. She stated she had no idea about what was happening under her roof and would have stopped it if she did know. Zoro believed her, she was a kind hearted woman who obviously loved Hancock and her sisters dearly. What was happening right now was mentally and physically killing her. The strong woman Hancock described in the past was falling apart. Her sister's didn't really know what they were to do either. They also clearly did not know what was going on with Hancock, she kept to herself so often and hid it so well… Zoro knew that if he had never stumbled upon it by accident, he would never have known. Hancock was strong and independent like her mother and burdened her own shames, but right now her mother was not strong and she needed the family to help keep her together through the undeserved guilt she had.

Going to school was impossible. They couldn't keep up with the questions to why she went missing, and eventually the whole abuse story went public and everyone's accusing glare followed them down the hall, no, school right now was impossible. Zoro still went to the Dojo every once in a while when he really needed to blow off some steam, but no one really asked him anything out of fear he would snap. The sisters were going crazy with boredom and sometimes tagged along just to get some normalcy back into their lives but it was going to take time. They all wanted to keep that hope alive that she would return but with the police telling them not to, it was hard for them all. When was it time to move on? No one really gives an amount of time that is needed for that.

A couple of weeks after the kidnapping, the media started turning up on their door step and to make things worse, one reporter in particular, a bright faced new girl on the job had to go sticking her nose into their business by asking Hancock's mother if at least deep down she did know and just let it go on because she was jealous of her daughter's beauty. If Zoro had not held her back, the bright faced girl wouldn't be so bright anymore without any teeth.

After that the papers each printed something different and eventually after a month of nothing, the media started giving up one by one and eventually the whole town acted like she never existed in the first place. It was heart breaking.

Zoro tried to keep himself occupied so he had as little time to think about it all as possible. The media was giving up but that wasn't his problem because he really believed that eventually she would be back. Instead he kept himself busy but helping Hancock's mother through the ordeal which she was too weak to fight against alone. Mrs Lori Boa was barely making it through.

"Mrs Boa, please don't cry, we will find her I promise" Zoro told Hancock's mother for the hundredth time.

He had been visiting every day because her mother had taken a shining to him. Zoro was the connection to the side of Hancock she was sad to have never seen. She knew in her heart if Hancock had told her, they would have been able to save themselves and gotten away from Ruyi but she understood why she didn't. If only she had paid more attention.

Everything made sense when Zoro reluctantly filled in the pieces. To the family, he knew they deserved to know, but to the police is was harder. Necessary of course but harder. It was telling a stranger her darkest of secrets and she wasn't even around to tell him what was allowed to be told and what was not. Though what he hated to admit to others and himself was that in fact he barely knew anything about the situation at all, Hancock wasn't ready to tell him the details and he didn't think he had to know then and there.

The information in the end wasn't vital or anything, it was just helpful. Hancock's mother had more information on Ruyi than expected but even that proved inefficient. He was smart enough to do something nobody expected of him which ended up being bad for Hancock of course and her whole family including Zoro who through all this pain was now considered family.

Zoro already knew that if he could fall in love with that bitch of a woman, he wouldn't easily change his mind.

The thought of how Hancock seemed to him when they first met made him chuckle. The chuckling stopped when he realised the situation she was in. This happened most days, he would remember how radiant she was and then remember what happened and how he was uncertain about the future that was so clear moments before her abduction.

"Zoro!" Hancock's mother sobbed with a tear stained face when her thoughts about her daughter became too much for her once more "What are we going to do if she doesn't come back to us… what if she does but she isn't herself anymore?" her high pitched sobs put into sound all the fears the whole household had.

They had been moved to an unknown house under the guise of a form of witness protection program, moving Zoro in with the family. There were many reasons to why they moved the family. The first reason was an obvious one, Ruyi might come back to cover his tracks or take another victim, of course Zoro knew that was not going to happen, Ruyi would not come back, there was nothing to come back to. Even so the police was watching the house in case he did end up being stupid.

The other reason was that the family could not bear to be in that house. The constant reminder of Hancock missing and the now obvious thought of all the horrible things he did to Hancock in that house. Everything was tainted for that family now. They had no idea what his sick mind made him do to her, but Zoro knew to some degree at least and he made sure not to go into detail about it. Even with all the facts Zoro was told, he knew he didn't know half of the pain Ruyi caused her.

For Zoro, the move wasn't that bad, besides his friends from school, he lived alone and thus suddenly living with a lot of people was hard, especially since before all this, he didn't know them at all. Only what Hancock told him about them and what he saw at school when he met her sisters in the hall, it was bizarre to say it simply. The problem was, because Zoro was Hancock's confidant, he now became the confidant for the whole family and that was a heavy burden to bear. However at the same time, the fact that he had to take care of the family kept his mind off of his deepest fears about Hancock's abduction and thus he threw himself into consoling the family causing him to completely grow on them. Consoling her mother helped him, he would convince her that Hancock would come back safe and eventually he started believing it at the surface. He never went beyond the surface of his feeling because he was not ready to acknowledge his deepest fears.

They all, if Hancock came back safe, really prayed for them to be together forever. Zoro according to them obviously loved Hancock, and if she was able to open up to him, she clearly loved him too.

That thought, for Hancock's family was a thought that kept them going and gave them hope for her for when she came back. She had people waiting for her to help her through the pain.

The house they got put into was a relatively small house but everyone fit comfortably and it wasn't a constant reminder which was a relief, Zoro lived in a shitty house before anyway so he wasn't complaining and Hancock's family were just relieved to be away from the nightmare and at least have a few moments a day that they didn't think about the horrors that might be happening to Hancock. This house was their new beginning regardless of what happened. It was at the end of town, not too far from their entire life, something they needed to be reminded not to give up regardless of the outcome for Hancock but far enough to know whether danger lies at their current house and far enough for Ruyi not to be able to find them. The police wanted to relocate them further but Mrs Boa did not allow that to happen. They needed their connection if they were ever going to move on if the situation turned out bad.

Zoro was going to spend today keeping his mind off things, he hated no being able to do anything but even he had to admit that he would be of no help to anyone. He had planned to go practice at the dojo, he had so much pent up energy and beating the shit out of one of the other members sounded good to him.

Leaving the unfamiliar yet comforting house, Zoro was making his way down the street. However he noticed a familiar car driving towards him. It was a small black car, with tinted windows, a Nissan as he could tell. He remembered it from the many conversations he had with the driver. Agent Lock. She was a driven police officer and he liked her, she was the main person assigned to Hancock's case and he felt that if anyone would find Hancock, Agent Lock would be the one to try her hardest.

Zoro stopped walking and waited for the car to stop. Like expected, the car stopped next to him and the windows automatically rolled down revealing the person he knew was in the car. Her worlds rang out like a bell and Zoro wasn't sure if he heard them or not.

"We found her…"

Zoro's heart thumped loudly in his ears, surely this wasn't another one of his dreams?

**A/N: Okay so I actually know where I am headed with this so I should update again soon! But like mentioned I go to America in a month for four months so I can't promise anything! I'll try! Thank you all for still sticking with me and my writing! You are all too too amazing! I could have easily dropped the story but you guys make me want to continue! 3 I love you**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Yes so here is another chapter! I'm trying to update really frequently so to make up for my really really long hiatus! I'm so sorry guys! **

**Chapter Fourteen**

Zoro rushed out of the car only to be stopped by a large hand holding him back, one of the police officers held him for a second whilst they prepared to let the family in.

Everyone was present and ready for whatever may come, at least she was alive right?

Given the opportunity, Zoro looked around. They were a few towns over, just blending into the neighbourhood it seemed. The house was identical to all the others in the street, the only give away that people don't go outside much was the grass. It was long and dying unlike the other houses which were bright and short.

"How did you find her?" Zoro asked in the car on the ride over.

There was silence for the longest time as if the Agent Lock was attempting to find a way to put something horrible into words, after not replying for what seemed an eternity, Zoro had to ask the question everyone needed to hear. Even if they believed it to be true, they needed confirmation.

"Is she alive?" He stammered out. Surely she was, or they wouldn't be taking them to her, and would have already stated about her passing, right?

"She is alive" the agent stated matter of factly yet she still hadn't answered his other question.

One of Hancock sisters let out an exasperated sigh, he didn't see which one and her mother seemed distant. Clearly something was wrong but the agent would not say what.

"Alright, here it is. We found your Hancock… but there was a complication in a sense…" Agent Lock pushed out with a huff of air.

She rubbed her forehead in slow circular movements.

"It is important to remember my warning when you see her" She suddenly looked much older and was clearly unhappy with the situation at hand. Finding her was supposed to be a good thing, what could possibly have gone wrong?

"The neighbours to the house called because they had not seen the man living here leave the house in over a week and they were worried. His description seemed to match that of Ruyi so my team checked it out" She pushed a tuft of hair that escaped her too tight of a bun away from her eyes and continued on with what she was saying. She clearly hated this part of her job and although Hancock was alive, something was apparently amiss. Zoro felt her heart quicken to the possibilities, was she dying maybe? Alive but for how long?

Agent Lock went of explaining what happened with her team. They had knocked on the door, wary of who may be inside. However the door was unlocked and there was no noise inside. They searched everywhere but the house seemed to be empty. Except one door which was closed. The smell of something disgusting was obvious and her team slowly entered the one room upstairs that no one had checked. The site would have anyone attempting to keep the contents of their stomach down. By the door lay the body of Ruyi, obviously dead for enough time to start smelling, and near him was the unconscious body of Hancock. Covered in the blood of her victim. Her two arms were the worst, almost perfectly covered from her fingers to her elbow. She was covered in it so much which was due to an obvious struggle, sweat and blood clotted in her hair. She had bruises all over her face and body. She was cuffed by her ankle to the foot of the bed and bleeding all around it where she had pulled and pulled in an attempt grab something or it might have happened during some kind of struggle with her captor. The cuts in her ankle were sickening and enough to want to rush her to the hospital alone.

She had a broken nose at first glance and when rescue came, she made no noise or expression of recognition for where she was or what was happening. She was awake but she wasn't really there.

Upon further inspection, Ruyi had bled out, jagged metal was stuck in his chest, and from the looks of things, and Hancock had stabbed him over and over again with it till he stopped being a threat. Agent Lock was no expert but she assumed it had been at least a week since he had died and because Hancock was chained, she was stuck in that room with no food or water, or if she did have those things, they didn't last long.

She was lucky to be alive. She was severely dehydrated and needed food badly. She was clearly a mess and no one could tell what was her blood or his. Clearly there was a huge tussle.

She was obviously covered in other fluids but Agent Lock decided not to mention just how bad the girl looked when they found her. Besides a broken nose, her ankle was badly cut from the cuffs and one of her wrists was fractured. She had a lot of cuts and bruises everywhere and it was hard to tell what was done on purpose by Ruyi or what was acquired during their final fight.

On the record, it would go that she killed him out of self-defence, but Agent Lock noticed that although she killed him out of self-defence, she mutilated him after as well. No one else needed to know that and she would make sure that would not be put on the record. The girl had been through a lot and if revenge is what she need then so be it.

"She is currently in the hospital, and you can visit her right after this stop" Agent Lock finished.

Agent Lock had brought the family here so they could help take Hancock to the hospital, hoping the sight of her family would help her cooperate and trust them. However her apparent emptiness confused everyone and she put up no fight whilst they moved her. She did not even seem to register the movement. Her eyes were open and she looked at the faces where the voices were coming from but she didn't seem to understand what anybody was saying. Agent Lock at the time rushed to fetch her family but she soon got word that they could not wait and had moved Hancock to the hospital already. She needed sustenance now.

Stating this to the family, Zoro still insisted on seeing the house she was being kept. To everyone it was a kind of a disgusting relief that Ruyi had not kept her in the same town. It explained why it had taken so long to find her. If she had been right under their noses, then Zoro probably would never have forgiven himself for taking so long to find her.

Agent Lock mentioned her movement to the hospital but Zoro insisted on seeing the house she was being kept and Hancock's family did not protest. Her sisters wanted to see the area in which she lived and her mother just stayed silent. She was just so relieved her daughter was alive. If she had died, her mother would have blamed herself for the rest of her life because she had married that monster and let him into the house.

Zoro stared at the house as the front door opened and a body bag was dragged out on a stretcher. The bag was black that gave a sense of anonymity but Zoro knew that, that bastard was the one inside it. Agent Lock did not explain exactly how and what Hancock did to kill him but he knew it was nothing short of what that person deserved.

He walked over to the agents moving the stretcher. The rest of Hancock's family stayed in the car.

Her mother refused to look at the body bag. It was hard for her. Till just recently, she never expected this of Ruyi. She still loved him even though she had kicked him out of the house, but now she wasn't sure how she felt. Ruyi and the man who kidnapped her daughter seemed like different people in her head. She hadn't had time to process it so instead she decided not to see the body bag or the body inside. That way she could pretend her daughter kidnapper and Ruyi were different people, to keep her own sanity. She wouldn't tell other people this however, they wouldn't be able to understand. He was a monster yes, but no one else knew the other side of him that she fell in love with. What he did destroyed everything else he had ever done but if they were two separate people then at least all those years she spent with him weren't a total waste. No, Ruyi and that monster both died but they were not the same person.

Zoro pushed his hair back out of his eyes and stopped moving when he was in front of the stretcher. The agents looked at him with confused expressions.

"Can I see the body?"

They were clearly moving to say no but one look at Agent Lock told them that it was alright for them to unzip the bag. Zoro was unsure of why she would let him, this was clearly against protocol, but he wasn't going to complain.

Slowly they unzipped to show the face of the monster. His eyes were closed as if sleeping but his face was drained of all colour, making it seem as if he was sick. He had a busted lip and a long shallow cut from his eyebrow to his cheek. From a nail he assumed, Hancock did always have long nails. Many bruises sweltered along his jaw line some darker than others, meaning Hancock had decided to fight back more than once. The darker ones indicated that her first attempt was unfruitful. Zoro's stomach knotted at the idea of what Ruyi would have done to Hancock in her retaliation. However she was alive, he needed to relish in that.

The agents looked at Zoro and he nodded for them to continue unzipping. Slowly they complied. He noticed they had removed his shirt, probably to be able to analyse the wounds and what caused his death. The first wound he saw was shallow like the one on his face and by his collar bone. Zoro assumed that it was Hancock's first attempt. She had used something sharp from the bed he was told but she was probably tired and had no energy so when she first attacked him and hit bone, she tried again in another area, which probably worked. Right under his ribcage was a deep wound, but it was hard to tell because his whole chest was covered in blood. It was angled and Zoro could tell it went into his lung.

Probably what killed him…? Thought Zoro.

Besides all that, Zoro could tell that there were six more stab wounds all in different places and one disturbing gash. It looked as if Hancock had stabbed him in the stomach and yanked. He did not know if Ruyi was dead by this point whilst Hancock had ripped him open.

The agents stopped unzipping by his pelvis and Zoro was confused as to why. Behind him Agent Lock exited her car and made her way over to him. The family stayed in the car.

"You do not want to see what she did down there" she said matter of factly. Zoro made a noise of recognition. This was the horrible man who ruined her. He didn't judge that she got her revenge, she deserved some form of closure.

"Don't tell anyone else what she did. Her family don't need to know what happened. Hancock killed him in self-defence that is all"

Zoro nodded in understanding. Agent Lock was right.

"So… what did she do with it?" Zoro asked slowly and pointed to the area between his legs still covered with the bag.

Agent Lock sighed and patted her bun to make sure it was still secure atop her head.

"We haven't been able to find it" she said as she looked down at the body.

Zoro swallowed, he was unsure whether to laugh or be afraid of Hancock just a tiny bit. He didn't want to think about what she may have actually done with his so called weapon and would ask her about it if the moment ever arose, that is if Agent Lock didn't find it and tell him first, but this was Hancock that they were talking about it. She was smart and whatever she did with it was going to prevent them from ever finding out.

"Check his…" Zoro started laughing at himself for feeling bad for the guy just a little bit.

"Check his body for it…" he finished. Agent Lock looked surprised at first, her eyes wide because of how tight her bun sat on her head and eventually nodded. She knew full well that it was probably somewhere in him, no matter how disgusting it may seem.

Looking up at the two unnamed agents, Zoro nodded. His way of letting them know he was done with the body. He turned around and stalked back to the car. He was ready to go see Hancock now.

He had been itching to see her all along but he also needed to see with his own eyes that the bastard was dead. He wasn't coming back. He wasn't going to stop Hancock from being with him anymore… hopefully.

Agent Lock got into the driver's seat and readied the car. Hancock's mother or sisters didn't ask what Zoro saw in that body bag, they didn't want to know. They didn't want to know how hard Hancock had to fight for her life, but Zoro _needed_ to know.

Under his breath Zoro whispered ever so slightly his skin crawling with anticipation.

"I'm coming Hancock".

**A/N: I hope I am making you guys happy again! I again am so so sorry about my lack of posing for so long but you reviews and messages really helped me! It always reminded me of the story and kept me attached to it. But it was so busy and my writers block didn't help D:**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter fifteen**

Zoro rushed into Hancock's hospital room but it was to no avail, she was out cold. He didn't fully understand it but she had so many tubes coming out of her. Each doing something else for her well-being. He was so close to losing her that his heart physically hurt.

He did obviously attempt to prepare himself for the worst but seeing her now proved how not ready he would have been. Almost losing her now was killing him, but he was so happy to see her none the less.

Besides the tubes sticking every which way, he noticed all her injuries. She looked awful and that hurt more.

On her face alone she had those kind of casts for your nose, a split lip that matched Ruyi's and a black eye. Her hair had been shaved on the side to make room for what looked like stitches from where he was standing. They we long and gruesome looking and Zoro couldn't guess what they came from.

Looking down she had another cast on her fractured wrist and multiple bandages all around her. One of course on her ankle which had started to bleed again. Besides those she also had multiple bruises everywhere and of course he already knew about her scars on her back. She was lying on her back but Zoro realised that her family had never seen them and eventually she would have to show them. He dreaded for her because he knew she would hate doing that. Hancock would most likely with her family pretend that Ruyi never happened, but if she did that, then her family would probably never forgive themselves.

On her other wrist he noticed many scratches on her forearm and she had very bloody finger tips, most likely acquired whilst she tried to create her makeshift weapon. They clearly cleaned her up but the little bit of blood under her nails was impossible to reach Oh, how he wished he could hold her right now. His love had come back to him finally. He was still angry he couldn't protect her but he would use the rest of his life to make it up to her. He would protect her this time.

Most of her body was covered in the thin sheet the hospital called a blanket. Zoro didn't want to move it and frankly he had seen enough injuries to feel rage. If Ruyi wasn't dead already then Zoro would seriously have fucked him up. In ways even he didn't think was he was able to think of.

Shame rooted itself deep in his body. He always prided himself about being strong. He always wanted to be the best, and he was good but what use were his skills when he couldn't even help find her?

Behind him he heard an assortment of sobbing and then suddenly a very high pitched whine from her mother. She couldn't take it anymore. The view was killing her. She rushed forward to her unconscious daughter and held her cold hand tightly.

"I'm so sorry" she sobbed falling to her knees.

Her trembling got worse as she looked her daughter over, smoothing her hair away from her face and kissing her hand once, twice, and then a third time.

"Baby… my baby... My ba" her crying was uncontrollable now and you couldn't make out a word she was saying.

Her two sisters rushed forward and crowded Hancock, holding their mother and each sobbing, the sisters quieter than her mother.

Zoro stood there awkwardly for a moment before Sandersonia grabbed his hand and pulled him into the family moment. He was as much a part of this as the rest of them and it was about time he started realising it.

Zoro whilst in half of an embrace looked up at Hancock innocently sleeping, finally seeming at peace.

"Wake up soon" He whispered.

**A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short, but I figure its okay as long as I keep updating right? :P There just wasn't that much to say! I hope you are still enjoying my writing… 3 thank you for sticking with me!**

**Also for the people in different countries, HAPPY NEW YEAR! We still have 2 more hours to go but have a great 2014! I know I will! **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N : Hey! Sorry this chapter took so long! Though not a year right? Ahaha…. Too soon? Anyway I have officially moved to America Oregon for 4 months for school and have been here two weeks and I am loving it! Like wow! But yes enjoy the chapter! Hopefully it's more exciting again! Also for the person who asked about my twitter – it kind of bombed so I set up a tumblr instead :P I have a personal one too… which I guess I can give you if you message me but my fanfic one which I'll use more now for awesome shizz is .com – pretty standard right?**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Hancock sat on her bed pulling at the chains around her ankle, testing the durability and her possible escape route. It was tight and the chain was too strong for her. She needed the key or something.

Hancock sat tugging for a while making her ankle sore, but she ignored it. She was desperate for her freedom.

She wasn't sure how long it had been, after two weeks she stopped counting, and even then she wasn't even sure if that was accurate. The days blended into nights and since she couldn't see the sun ever, she was never sure of the time. The only indication of a new day was the visits and the food. Food once a day meant of course a new day. Ruyi always gave enough to last a whole day if she was smart and rationed it. Even still it wasn't enough to give her the energy to keep fighting every day and she could tell she was slowly losing her spirit.

His visits were frequent and sickening. However nothing prepared her for this night. He wasn't just using her body, he was destroying her completely, physically and mentally, through whatever means he had at his disposal.

Hancock was chewing loudly on her KFC chicken that was carelessly thrown into her room. It was cold and slightly tasteless but Hancock was starving and in no position to be picky. She finished off the wing quickly, cleaning it off the bone completely and put the bag under her bed. It was still filled with two more wings, and a small pack of fries but she would save those for after her captors visit because he would completely wear her out and the food kept her going afterwards and helped keep her suicidal thoughts out of her head. She wanted so badly to keep the faith that she would be saved but it kept getting harder and harder and she was sure she could find a way to take her own life…

Hancock sat on the hard lumpy mattress thinking about everything. It was all she had to do with her day. Besides thinking, which was frankly driving her crazy, Hancock had also counted all the tiles in the room, the room was small and the tiles were big so she realised it took no time to count and there were only 35 tiles in the room. Then she figured she would sleep her days away and maybe if Ruyi came in whilst she was sleeping, he would just leave her alone. However a person can only sleep so much and she also discovered it did not stop the lecherous pervert.

Besides that Hancock spent her time planning her escape. There weren't that many options as of yet and right now she kept going back and forth on the idea of whether she needed to kill Ruyi or not. He would never let her go willingly. How would she get out of the cuff? She thought of ways to get the key from Ruyi but a couple days of being in that room had her realise that he never took the key with him, because he never uncuffed her. The chain was long enough for him to do whatever he wanted so there was no point. Dejected, Hancock sunk into the hard mattress, exhausted from the whole ordeal.

Ruyi was kind enough in his twisted way. He didn't hurt her much if she cooperated, however he still enjoyed doing it to a certain degree and hurt her anyway … but she was used to it by now. The mental abuse was what she couldn't get used to and she was tired! Not the kind of tired she could sleep off however and she wasn't sure how much longer she would last at this point.

Hancock put her hand to her stomach which for some reason started to feel really odd and she could feel a rise in her throat. Had the food been bad? She had been eating this kind of food often and she was careful not to eat too quickly and make herself sick or anything. The bile rose fast and Hancock had to jump up to run to the horrible little toilet in the corner of her room.

Dizziness made her stumble from getting up to quickly however she got to the toilet relatively without issues and let herself sag to the ground before hugging the bowl tightly and emptying her nearly vacant stomach. She sat there for a few minutes, constantly throwing something up that was no longer there and the acid taste burned and made her eyes tear up. The problem was that she had already finished her allocated water of the day and would not get any more till Ruyi's visit. This would be soon, that she knew but she would rather live with the taste of bile than see him. Either way she would have to deal with the horrid taste and burn for now.

When it had been a couple of minutes with no rise from her stomach, Hancock slowly crawled back to her bunk. She lay down and just waited for the sick feeling to go away, but she knew that the feeling was also partly because of her situation and she wouldn't feel safe unless the bastard was dead.

Zoro watched Hancock whilst she slept comatose in front of him. So injured yet still so strikingly beautiful. He couldn't understand how she did that. Her fingers twitched slightly in his hand as he held her tightly. They were cold but he could feel her pulse, proving to him that she was alive.

The doctors all stated she would wake up soon. Sometimes it is hard to tell with people in a coma about when they will wake up but the doctors assured Zoro and Hancock's family that Hancock would be awake soon. Her coma is only due to the severe dehydration and blood loss from her head. Only a maximum of a week or so and then she would hopefully be up and talking to them. He was so afraid though of what she might be like.

Zoro noticed Hancock's eyelids twitching too, like her fingers had been. She was dreaming. He wondered what she might be dreaming. Something good hopefully, and not a traumatic memory from whilst she was held captive.

Her forehead was damp and Zoro pulled a tissue out of the box on the nightstand next to her bed and wiped the cold sweat off her brow. Placing his hand on her rosy cheeks and feeling the heat of her. Her live body, he could literally feel she was alive and the thought made him smile. She was alive!

Zoro visited every day and sometimes even with Hancock's family, but they were preparing for when she woke up and they could take her home, which was why Zoro was the one who visited most often. They visited for a little while every day, sometimes every other day. It really depended. Hancock's mother had decided that they were going to move permanently. Not to the small house they got put into for protection though, but too a relatively large house near the school. Since Ruyi and Lori hadn't actually gotten officially divorced and even though he was a criminal, his life insurance paid out and they had quite a bit of money to help with the move.

The house was very nice and they had taken Zoro to see it. Everyone had their own room as well as a guest room. Each room was also bigger than in the last house which was fantastic. Lori had offered the guest room to Zoro permanently but he declined. That was something he didn't know if Hancock would want and he had a perfectly good shitty small apartment. He did however plan to stay for a while to help take care of Hancock when she woke up but that was another matter in of itself. Nothing of that house was remotely similar to the last one and it was going to be their salvation. Near the house, within walking distance was a therapeutic practice where Lori had planned to send Hancock. She would obviously need to talk to a professional because Lori and the rest of them understood that there was only so much they could do for her. This practice luckily had many different options to which Hancock could choose from, ranging from group therapy to being alone or even bringing a friend or family member with.

They were going to get through this, Zoro knew it.

He knew her! Hancock was the type of girl who did not dwell on the past. She could ignore her pain often enough, obviously this wasn't an ordinary issue but she wasn't an ordinary girl. She was going to grow past and be amazing. He was going to help her. The trauma would probably never fully go away but that wasn't enough to scare Zoro away, she was his girl and he was going to take care of them and he knew that when she was ready to stand on her own two feet, that she would equally take care of him too, because frankly she had saved him. Saved him from his own demons. He was going to save her from hers, even though she technically killed her demon already. So he was just going to help her forget.

Zoro looked back at the beautiful unconscious girl and watched her eyelids intently. It was so weird being able to see that she was dreaming.

Hancock was unsure of the time but the creak of the floorboards outside her room told her it was time for her sickening daily visit from her captor. Since the first time, Hancock had thrown up two more times, but now luckily her stomach was settled. Her door opened slowly and the dim light in her room seemed like nothing compared to the bright light of the sun coming into the hallway through the small spaces in the curtains covering the large windows. They were the type of middle curtains, that keep people from seeing into the house but let in all the wonderful sunlight. It took her a second to let her eyes adjust to the dark shadow smiling in the middle of the door way. To the side he threw her daily bag of supplies, some more food and the water she was desperately in need of, but of course she wouldn't grab till she had the privacy to eat and hydrate.

"Not even going to say hello?" he asked with a fake pout

His eyes were red from lack of sleep and his face dotted with unshaven hair. He looked terrible. Good! thought Hancock. Something was stressing him out and he deserved it.

"I have had a rough day today…" He started as if she would possibly care about him. He looked down at his feet for a second, thinking. Thinking about what? Though Hancock. He was a smart man but he didn't seem to have thought anything through since she met him. He was irrational and cruel.

He pushed his unruly hair out of his face in an action that could be seen as human had she not known better. His hair just fell back into his eyes and he sighed deeply. Contemplating something.

"I need to relax" He finally said making his way over to her prison like bed. Prison like… this was worse than prison. She would have preferred going to prison at this point. He sat down which a loud thump and watched Hancock who was sitting at the other end of her bed. She got up slowly, trying to put as much space between her and her captor as possible before he stopped her. She was painfully aware that it would not work at the end of the day but it might slightly delay the inevitable.

"You haven't said anything yet" He said quietly.

He was acting odd, so quiet and without malice. It was worse. She had no way to fight this mood of his. She had no way of predicting what he was going to do.

He looked at her in his disgusting manner. Up and down and back again. Taking her whole being and storing the mental image for another time.

"Dance for me" he said slowly with a small smile on his face. It seemed his old personality was creeping back but this time it was forced.

Hancock stood astonished for a second. He had told her to do it before but she had always been able to get out of it or even if forced, she was able to avoid doing it for long. Now she had no way out. She was stuck and chained to the bed by her ankle for that matter. There was no way out.

She didn't move. He wasn't going to order her around just like that. A minute passed in silence and he watched her with stern cold eyes.

"I said dance!" He yelled

Normally he never yelled. He was cruel and cold but never yelled. She normally didn't make him lose his cool like that and Hancock jumped slightly and how loud he could be and how angry he sounded but still she didn't move. Dancing was her escape and he wasn't going to make her do it unless he forced her. At the same time she was losing her back bone. She didn't want to get hit again.

Sighing she started to sway for his, making small dance like movements. She had to live through this… right? Was there something to go home to… no, she wanted to live, she was sure of that. Ruyi got up because clearly her dancing did not please him, but she couldn't get herself to actually dance for him. Dancing was something for herself, the thing that actually got her through the day, and dancing for him would be a betrayal of her very self. However she tried. Her sways becoming larger and her movements started to seem more like dancing. This pleased Ruyi and he stopped midstride on his way to her.

"Stupid bitch" he muttered.

Hancock closed her eyes and pretended she was in her dance class. She was dancing with her friends and letting the music in her head control her sways. She felt her body extend with each movement and forgot entirely where she was. She wasn't doing this for him. She was letting herself escape… death is an escape too. She kept going back to that conclusion but she needed more time. She would get away. She knew Zoro would come.

Suddenly she felt a hard stinging sensation and she was on the floor. She had been slapped again. Her ears rung and she realised he had been calling her name for some time now. He stood over her, watching her eyes come back to life as she was forced back into reality. He knelt down beside her placing his warm hand on her stinging cheek and caressing it lightly. This action could have been taken lovingly had Hancock not known better.

"I love you" he whispered and Hancock felt her stomach turn. It was said so quietly and lovingly that she physically felt a reaction. He didn't love her, he was just sick in the head. Thinking of a good way to reply, Hancock opened her mouth to destroy his disgusting hope of his. She would never love him back and he had to know that. He might have captured her physically but only a psycho would be stupid enough to love the real him. Her mother might have never known the real him but if she had, then she would have never brought that mother into her life.

"No one would eve-" She started but felt her physical reaction to his words once more and had to crawl quickly over to the basin of her disgusting hastily built in toilet. It was clear Ruyi did the work and frankly he had to just stay in the medical profession. At least it worked even if the wall and floors were horribly cracked in the process.

Hancock retched into the bowl and emptied her already empty stomach. She felt the burn of stomach acid that tried to replace the contents that just weren't there. Her eyes stung and she felt the tears poor down slowly from the pain of retching as well as the stinging of her cheek that she just now started to feel.

Refusing to turn around, Hancock faced the way and sat there for as long as she could, but she heard Ruyi get up and make his way over to her. Still she did not move.

She felt him next to her kneeling but she kept her eyes closed and tried to steady her stomach. He placed a hand on her sweaty forehead and then on her cheek once more. Not lovingly but doctor like. He then placed his hand somewhere she didn't expect. Her stomach or a little more south to that. Still doctor like he felt around for a second. Feeling for… something.

"When are you due?" he asked and Hancock sat confused.

"What?" she said, the first time she spoke in days and her voice came out horse and crackly. It hurt to strain her throat.

He asked again though this time without patience at all and Hancock wracked her brain, she couldn't remember at all. She wasn't even sure how long she had been held captive.

"Not since before… being here" she finally spluttered out confused.

"Fuck…" he cursed and got up leaving the room with a slam of the door. Hancock sat confused for a second and then crawled back to the paper bag he had chucked into the room in the first place. Finally happy for the short amount of peace she might have just earned.

She took big gulps of her water in an attempt to wash down the disgusting tastes. The food was mediocre. You could easily tell her just grabbed whatever he could find in the super market. A sandwich, crisps. That kind of thing.

Looking around her room, she crawled back to her bed and looked at it. Nothing she could see would break her chains.

She pulled hard trying to break the chain from the metal frame of the bed, but it was bolted to the floor. At the same time she felt the slim cuff dig into her forcing her to stop. No point hurting herself if it wasn't going to help.

Hancock turned as she heard her door click open. Ruyi stepped in looking very uncomfortable and deep in thought. He didn't say anything and walked over to Hancock, grabbing her roughly by the arm, he dragged her onto her thin mattress.

Fear settled in her empty stomach as he sat roughly by her feet still deep in thought. Was she correct into thinking that he looked scared?

"It's your fault" he said staring at the wall ahead of him.

Hancock decided not to reply to that.

"If I had never met you... I wouldn't have to mourn you…"

Wait… what?

Hancock looked alarmed but she caught on fast enough and couldn't avoid the tears from spilling over. She sobbed silently before he even said what he was going to do. So even after all this… he was going to kill her.

"No wait… hush" he cooed, wiping her tears away

"I can't keep you Hancock… but I can give you a quick death, I'm merciful enough for that but… there has been a complication, I'll take your life when our child is born and run away with him"

_Child_…

"Child…" Hancock said quietly to herself, the news refusing to sink in

"Our son" He smiled slightly at the thought.

"He is going to beautiful like you… but I can't keep you…"

Ruyi stroked Hancock's face lovingly in his own twisted way but Hancock didn't even feel it. Her mind went blank in an attempt to understand what she had just been told. This couldn't possibly be true could it? He made her swallow pills… to avoid just this! And he was happy about it?

She sat there emotionless and without feeling. She couldn't feel his disgusting hand on her face or him pulling her to him and forcing his lips on hers. She felt none of it. She had completely left her body like so many over times when he had crawled on top of her. His impatient hands pulling off her minimal clothing.

Ruyi pushed Hancock down on her mattress and she closed her eyes waiting for it to be over. She didn't want to die and she definitely didn't want to give birth to this devil child. What could she do though?

She felt him enter her quickly through his impatience but besides the first second, she was able to stop feeling down there too. She lost all spirit to fight and just felt her tears roll down her eyes, whilst looking at all the cracks in the ceiling.

Eventually he finished and left her to clean herself up, mumbling about all the things he needed to sort out before their wonder child. Hancock stayed laying there naked on her bed, not entirely back in her body just yet. She had to get away… there was no other choice.

Zoro was starting to fall asleep and decided he might need to leave for the night. He would be no good to her exhausted if she woke up. He grabbed her hand lovingly, feeling how cold she was. Suddenly she twitched in his hand and his exhaustion immediately got pushed to the far ends of his being. She twitched again in his hand but showed no real signs of waking up. Then Zoro noticed it.

Blood was slowly soaking through the white sheets.

"Nurse" He yelled, louder then he thought he could be. "Nurse! Nurse!" He yelled again and he soon her the running steps of people coming to his aid.

"She is losing the baby!" One of the nurses yelled whilst rushing to Hancock's side.

"The what…?" Zoro said quietly even whilst he was being pushed out of the small hospital room. Frustrated he tried to stay as involved as possible but could not.

She was losing something right in front of him that he didn't even know she had. The nurses hadn't told him anything and frankly it really pissed him off.

Hours passed, and Hancock's family arrived swiftly after he had called them, the nurse had finally come out of the room and explained that she had just horribly miscarried, when Zoro had demanded to know why they didn't know, and was answered with a mere shrug and a half assed reply. They knew that he wouldn't be able to handle the news along with everything else, they first needed to make sure she was going to make it.

"Why did that happen?" Asked her mother

"We think she is trapped in a repeat of what happened to her… like flashbacks of some sort whilst she is comatose. I think she lost the baby from the stress of her memories…"

**A/N: I hoped you liked it! DUNDUNDUN! So yes I'll try to update soon, already have my notes done for the next chapter but its so hard to find time! Like I barely found time to proofread… umm so I skimmed – please point out any major problems. I guess I need a beta-reader… anyone wanna do it? PM me please :3 **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey sorry it has been a while! Here is some more! It is just getting difficult to write because the conclusion to the story isn't so far away anymore. **

**Chapter Seventeen**

Hancock just lay naked, sobbing to herself.

"This is your fault"

Ruyi's voice played over and over in her head when she was told of her pregnancy.

The pregnancy…

She almost laughed at the thought of her being pregnant. No, it wasn't her who was pregnant. The person who was pregnant was the scared girl who got captured by the monsters hiding under her bed. Hancock was just trapped in this poor girl's body.

She kept trying to tell herself that but frankly it wasn't working because in nine months it would be Hancock giving birth to this devil spawn and not the made up girl in her head. Slipping off the bed, numb, Hancock made her way to the toilet bowl once again and emptied her stomach. Then she sat and stared. Stared around the room. She stared at the bed and wondered, not everything is screwed down right?

She crawled over to the bed and lifted the sad excuse of a mattress. The wood boards weren't nailed down… but was she even strong enough to do any damage with that?

Just in case, she pulled one out and placed it under the bed. Maybe if she caught him off guard.

Those were the only thing that was screwed into the metal frame. Hancock tried to move one of the screws but only succeeded in cutting through the skin on her fingers.

Sitting and staring, Hancock felt her stomach tense and loosen, as if the devil spawn was already growing inside her and literally feeding off her life force. Of course she knew this wasn't true, but she was so tired, so very, very tired. She could never get enough proper sleep and there was nothing to be awake for anyway.

She stared at the walls, at each of the cracks, the spider webs, the places where paint flaked off. She stared at the cracks by the toilet and the poor plumbing work. At the light in the middle of the room, always off.

She kept staring, the walls slowly distorting. She felt like they were suddenly blacker, darker, moving closer towards her. Closing her in. Suddenly she wasn't breathing anymore. She was trying, inhaling, exhaling, but nothing. The room had no air for her to inhale or exhale. Around her eyes things went black. Suddenly it was hot, and not even a second later it was freezing. How could there be a temperature when there was no air.

Now she was floating away from her body and no longer in need of air. Her body convulsing for what it so desperately needed below her. She didn't really care. Her body needed so many things but that also meant that the devil spawn had access to these things too. Hancock looked down, the pain in her stomach growing, her stomach apparently growing too. Suddenly it was as if she was seven or eight months pregnant. She freaked and looked away for a second but then suddenly it felt like this wasn't something that shouldn't have happened. Yes, her baby was due soon. It wasn't but for some reason that thought didn't occur to her.

The walls started to seep a black oil. Hancock stared at it, not registering that this was not normal. She was back in her body. Suddenly she felt that she could breathe again. It didn't feel like she ever lacked air anymore either. She stared and stared at the seeping oil. Not oil, it was thicker. It was a type of goo. It was coming closer to her.

Touching her feet. Now covering her legs. The room was filling with it. It was now around her waist. Higher and higher still. At her shoulders, up to her chin. She closed her eyes and eventually was completely covered. It was completely dark.

Awake!

Looking around the room, Hancock saw no goo, no lack of air, no baby bump, nothing. None of it had happened.

She wiped her brow from the sweat that had beaded together and sighed. Great, now she was hallucinating, or just falling asleep without even realizing it. She was so exhausted. How long had it even been at this point?

She lost count so long ago.

She wished so much she had put a stop to this so long ago. There had to have been something right? Something she convinced herself wouldn't have worked.

Hancock touched her stomach and sobbed tearlessly. What was she going to do?

What could she do?

Take him down with her, that's what.

Zoro, watched Hancock's unmoving body in the same room like before, this time without her possible baby. The baby he did not even know about. He was bitter to say the least about not being told something so important. He may in some people's eyes only be her 'boyfriend' but considering their situation, things were much different for them and the normal definition of 'boyfriend'.

It was horrible, each day she was under, is one day longer away from her, From their future and one more day that she was stuck in her own personal hell. She was reliving what she had been through.

It was killing him to know he could not help her right now. He just wanted to help her through this torment.

Zoro could even admit to missing her self-obsessed bitchy attitude that she put on. He could almost laugh at the thought of her first waking words being about how beautiful she was compared to the mess he probably looked now from being beside her bed every day since they found it.

He chuckled slightly at the idea, feeling a bit better at the reminder that she was resilient and there is nothing he couldn't help her through.

He was human however, and very afraid of what would happen when she finally did wake up. Would it be better if she died? Maybe then she would be out of her misery. He knew she would want to live however, and of course he wanted that more than anything! However, what if she could not stand living? What if he can't help her?

What if she can't past the memories at all?

She deserved to be happy, deserved it more than anyone.

The day stretched on but Ruyi didn't visit. Not at all. She heard the creek of floorboards by the door some hours ago to signify that he was standing there, however, he chose not to enter the room.

What a relief… thought Hancock.

The less he visited her the better in her mind. It also gave her more time to plan her possibly escape, with killing him and dying or if she even got lucky enough to actually escape.

Zoro… thinking about seeing him again kept her going. The only mad she has ever properly loved, and the only man who had ever truly loved her. Truly loving who she was and not just her appearance.

She smiled slightly thinking about Zoro and drifted off to sleep, resting for the first time in days because for once her mind was filled with happy thoughts and not just replaying nightmares that happen in the day, and picturing them again whilst she slept, making sleep nearly impossible. Reliving horrors more than once just wasn't possible. She wasn't strong enough.

Her sleep was deep and she pictured what her life with Zoro might have been like if it started out normally. If she was normal. Of course she wondered what their sex life might be like. Her dream turned naughty but she enjoyed the idea of sex that she would enjoy. Things seemed to be heating up for her but then suddenly she was very aware she was no longer dreaming. Her dream was her and Zoro, touching and kissing and enjoying, but she was actually being touched.

It all felt like a bad dream, yes. She was waking up next to her boyfriend who apparently got a little excited in the night and decided to wake her up with romantic loving sex.

No… that isn't right. Her eyes still closed, she realized that being with Zoro was the dream… She was still stuck in her nightmare!

Grunting noses filled the room as she was aware of Ruyi pumping into her vigorously without her consent. He was rougher than usual, chasing his climax in such a deprived way.

Hancock stayed perfectly still. Unmoving and almost forgetting to breathe, she didn't want to let him know she was awake. There was nothing she could fight. He was already inside her… like the many other times he had been. It wasn't as painful as usual because in her sleep she had become aroused in her confused state. Convinced herself she was with her loving boyfriend. This only seemed to spur Ruyi on, her wetness making his arousal all the more prominent. He grabbed her head and although she still pretended to be asleep, he kissed her forcefully. Touching her in places that she would later cry about.

She forced her mind back to Zoro and waited for the lecherous sociopath to get off of her and leave.

Eventually he did leave, never saying anything to her or ever really looking at her. This is what is would be like for the next couple of days. Hancock noted his trips were less frequent than before, and now he kept most of his visits to be done whilst Hancock slept. Which made sleeping impossible of course.

Sometimes she noted, he would just come in to watch her, whilst she tried her hardest to pretend to be asleep. Other times he would "wake" her and have his way. Other times, he didn't even bother to check if she was awake.

He no longer sought to get a reaction from her. He reveled so much in her reactions in the past. Her hatred driving him into doing more unspeakable things to her. Scarring her back, kidnapping her, using her family against her.

Suddenly he seemed at a loss of words. Maybe it was the pregnancy. Suddenly she was a real person and suddenly there were major consequences. Either way, he deserved to feel pain and fear. He deserved more than that even.

She wasn't going to see him as a human being because what he did wasn't human at all. He deserved no sympathy.

The nightmare really needed to end. She planned to take the next opportunity she could get.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: So I'll try to finish the story soon but I haven't really figured out the conclusion yet so I don't know how long that will take. I'll try my best! Thank you guys for being so supportive. Reviews are what keep me going! 3**

**Chapter Eighteen**

Hancock slipped off her bed and stared at the wall, her free hand flexing around the slate of wood. Her other hand rubbing her sore ankle from the chain. Every day she was pulling at it, but it was going nowhere.

Could she even fight a grown man?

As if on cue, Ruyi slipped into her room. Raising her head, Hancock stared him down with her now normal lifeless look. She looked a mixture of bored and having a lack of will.

Ruyi frowned. He had finally broken her. Something he always wanted, but he missed her fighting him. It was clearly one of his kinks. She was still so attractive though…

He didn't say anything again. There was nothing to say anymore. He would have to end her eventually. Hopefully after the birth of his future son, then the two of them could flee.

What he would really have loved is to escape with Hancock in tow. Eventually she would learn to love him. She stopped fighting him, which meant one step closer to loving him.

Ruyi knelt down in front of Hancock and brushed her unruly hair away from her dead eyes. He kissed her tenderly, or at least his version of tender but got no response. She didn't even close her eyes.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed her down onto the ground and had his usual way with her. Hancock has stopped redressing eventually and he had no problem forcing himself between her legs.

However, unlike usual, Ruyi didn't want to leave right away and chose to stay with her. Hancock said nothing to him but it didn't deter him to this warped image of happiness. He got the beautiful goddess, even if against his will.

"You can't even tell" He murmured, running his fingertips over her not even rounding belly.

"Do you like any other states?" He then asked looking her straight in the eyes.

She still said nothing but he peaked her curiosity. The silence was so long that eventually she decided to reply with the question that kept running through her mind.

"Are you going to kill me?" She forced out. Her voice was rough and broken since she hadn't used it for so long.

Ruyi said nothing for a while and stared at his hands. He then leant in and kissed her again. She didn't push him away. She had gotten way too tired.

"I don't want to… I'll try not to" He forced out and stared at her. He kept on staring.

Hancock felt uncomfortable under his stare. It was so personal for once and it was as if he was seeing through her. She crossed her arms in a hopes to feel a little less exposed.

"Let me go" She said staring at the floor

"I can't" Ruyi replied. Hancock didn't know what his expression was because she refused to look at him however he did sound remorseful.

"Yes you can, I won't tell them where you went" She said this time looking at him, trying to force sympathy out of him.

He looked away for a moment and then looked straight back at her again.

"We both know that I can't and frankly, won't let you go"

Hancock felt the tears prick at the edges of her vision. She didn't have the strength to stop them. Soon she was sobbing silently as Ruyi held her. Thinking it was some sort of comfort when it literally did the opposite to how she felt about the situation.

"I'm leaving" She said with as much determination as she could muster.

"What?" Ruyi said whilst Hancock slowly grabbing the wooden slate behind her under the bed. Without warning, she pulled the slate over her head and tried to hit Ruyi over the head with it.

Clearly Ruyi wasn't stupid. He saw it coming and moved out of the way.

"Don't be stupid!" He yelled at her.

"This literally seals your fate! I can't trust you enough to let you live! Think about our future, and our child!" He screamed

He looked genuinely afraid for a second but Hancock knew that it wasn't because he thought she could beat him because even she didn't think that. He looked like she had broken his heart because it was clear she didn't assume to live through this fight and he was finally completely made aware of how much she actually hated him.

He knew this of course but it was easy to fool himself about her love for him when he fucked her. He used to hurt her for this very sake. Her lack of love, he was punishing her for it.

He laughed at loud, his resentful side returning. She didn't love him… She needed to be punished. No one would love her as much as he loved her. He knew this. She was also having his child! What could he do? He didn't want to kill her…

He finally decided something. Time for him to stop being so friendly and giving. It was time to go. He would try to make it work of course, she would give birth to his child and if possible, live to care for his future son and for his… needs.

Ruyi felt his personality revert to what he was like before. To be able to put up with what a person he had become. In the last couple of weeks, he really noticed what he was doing to Hancock, and felt remorse, but he just loved her too much to share her with the world. She belonged to him right now, how could he give that up?

Just let her think she may die… once she realizes she wants to live, she will stop fighting. She was his destiny to have. His object.

Hancock lifted the wood menacing above her head in defiance. Ruyi took a step toward her.

"Do not come any closer!" She screamed swiping the slate towards him but not hitting anything.

Ruyi, ignoring Hancock's threats walked over to her and wrapped his hand around the slate of wood. He tightened his hand around the slate and stared Hancock in the eyes. She looked like she regretted her decision for a second but then stared back with defiance.

"Let go of the plank" Ruyi hissed at her, towering over her more than he usually did. His mood thundering through the room

She tightened her grip on the plank as a reply and Ruyi chortled in response.

"Very well then" He said and snapped the plank to the side. Hancock's tightened grip did not allow her to let go of the slate quick enough before feeling her wrist snap too.

The slate fell to the ground as Hancock stared at her throbbing wrist in horror. It was pushed a way that was impossible and suddenly she felt sick to her stomach.

Ruyi moving towards her grabbed her wrist gingerly. She didn't respond. She was horrified with what had just happened. He had never broken any of her bones before.

Gently he encased her wrist with his fingers and pushed it back to place. Forcing Hancock to scream and snatch her hand back to hold it close to her body, at least however it was now back in place.

"If you are a good girl, I'll wrap your hand for you and make you a splint" he said coldly grabbing the wood from the floor and throwing it towards the door to extract later.

He walked towards her again, this time she was more afraid than ever. She had pain but he had never been this cruel. Ruyi placed his hand gingerly on her cheek and stroked a tear away that had gotten caught on one of her lashes. He learned forward and kissed her, so gently it was sickening. Forcing her lips apart he forces his tongue into her mouth and explored to his heart's content.

He pushed her towards the cold wall and wrapped his free hand around her broken wrist as a constant reminder that she was in no position to fight.

Ruyi pushed onto Hancock and she felt his arousal clear as day. It was so constrained and Hancock choked on the idea that this was super arousing to him. He felt a pleasure from her pain and from his absolute control over her like he currently had.

Hancock sobbed silently to herself as her wrist ached uncontrollably.

Hiking his arm under Hancock's leg, he pulled her legs apart and forced her up the wall where she was level with him. He held her there and kissed her neck tenderly, his hand still resting lightly on her broken and seriously bruising wrist.

Pushing down his trousers, he released his constrained penis and pushed it towards Hancock. Lubricating himself up, he pushed towards her entrance and forced his way inside.

Hancock sobbed uncontrollably now as the pain became unbearable. She regretted so much that her body was trying to seek pleasure from his invasive actions to mask the pain in her broken bones. She wasn't able to turn off like she learned to do which forced the sobbing to grow. She felt everything. She couldn't push herself out of her body. She was too involved. The pain in her wrist was too real to let herself have an out of body experience.

A little moan escaped her lips, it was more a whine. She was sobbing too much and the pain was unbearable mixed with the pleasure that her body was forcing her to endure. It was even more painful. Her body wasn't letting her endure the pain of forced insertion as well as a broken wrist so Ruyi's lubrication coupled with her own made not feeling him so much harder.

Ruyi heard what could have been a moan and only got more excited. His system worked, she was back under his control.

Hancock couldn't endure the pain anymore and closed her eyes for a second, feeling like she was suddenly falling asleep.

When she awoke, Ruyi was gone, her wrist screamed but was unwrapped. She felt sticky and disgusting and sobbed at her failed escape attempt. It wasn't even an attempt at the end of the day and now her left wrist was useless to her.

Ruyi's quick cremation had just passed and Zoro was not surprised to find out not many attended. Hancock's mother had, more out of respect than any feelings. She assured everybody about this but Zoro knew it would be hard for her to completely hate the man she loved so dearly for so many years.

To make matters worse, she never really 'saw' Ruyi committing this atrocities. Therefore it would be so easy to pretend they are different people. Either way, this was going to rough from here on out and Zoro was worried about how it would go. No one ever means to blame the victim but that is exactly what he was afraid might happen.

Hancock's family would never do it properly, but some feelings are hard to prevent and resentment might be one of them. What if they resent that she never told them? Resented her lack of trust in herself to ask for help? Resent that Ruyi clearly went insane?

This just wasn't something he wanted Hancock to wake up to at all. Besides all his fears, he also knew Hancock's mother was very unstable right now. She would constantly burst into tears when she visited Hancock. Her breathe hitching and forcing her to leave because she couldn't even see her daughter through her tears. She blamed herself clearly, and although Zoro knew it wasn't her fault and Hancock never ever blamed her for it, there just wasn't anything he could say to convince her of that.

Things were definitely tense and kept getting tenser the longer Hancock was in her coma.

Zoro said his goodbyes and left for the night. Back to his old apartment that he hadn't been to in so long. Staying with the Boa family was fine, but he needed to be alone for a while and frankly it felt like everyone was getting tense. Hancock just wasn't waking up and everyone else was beginning to lose hope. People had a hard time coping.

Her sisters were the most stable about the whole situation besides Zoro, who wasn't stable at all however he hid his emotion well. If he started getting upset then her mother would probably be having nervous breakdowns by now.

It was problematic that he always had to act alright, and optimistic about Hancock. Truth was, he was scared. Scared out of his mind. Hancock had forced her way into his life with her claws and left destruction in her wake. He couldn't pretend she never happened and he wasn't ready to lose the love of his life. He lost someone before and that nearly tipped him over the edge along with the death of his parents. The fear of losing Hancock was much worse.

Guilt took the place of other emotions for the time being. Guilt that Hancock's family was falling apart and he couldn't stop or help, guilt that he couldn't save Hancock. Guilt that she was forced to live through those horrors. Guilt that he was more afraid of what losing Hancock would do to him then losing his parents had done.

He felt it all and needed to be alone to grieve.

He knew that it isn't that he felt more afraid about Hancock then sad when his parents died. It was a long time ago. Pain dulls. However reminding himself of that didn't do much to help him feel any better about the situation.

Zoro sat down in his empty apartment and looked around. It was dustier than before but nothing else had changed. He had however.

His apartment, was more of a reminder of Hancock then he had expected. She had only spent one night with him but it was all he could see right now.

Trying to empty his mind, Zoro took to focusing on his breathing exercises. He had not practiced his swordplay in so long. It had never failed to calm him and right now he needed it more than anything.

His breathing exercises were much harder than usual but eventually he managed to push the worst of his emotions out. He couldn't stop his worrying about Hancock but was able to live with it for now. He needed to try being optimistic. He made her dues with emotional destruction so it would be pretty cruel to take Hancock from him too.

A few hours of meditating passed, and frankly, Zoro felt better. More calm and he feared the worst less. He told himself that if the worst came to it, then at least Hancock would be at peace.

Grabbing his sword, he set to continue his normal routine, sweating his ills out. He decided to try something new. Something he had seen Hancock do during one of her dance classes. He felt like he was flying and actually knew this move would work. Another thing to thank Hancock for.

Although he would need to make the move a little less dance like…

He sighed and stared around.

_Time for a shower really…_ he thought to himself, getting up from his position in the middle of his super empty apartment and spotted the newspapers by his door.

_That's right... I haven't been here at all to chuck them out. _

He walked towards them and was instantly met with a smiling Hancock. The newspaper was about her kidnapping. This one was to state she had been missing for over a week. That was when the newspapers got interested in the case at least.

Zoro cringed. This was not a reminder he needed, or Hancock for that matter. Time to throw them out, but she would see them. She would hear about it. People would be too stupid, and won't leave her alone. Her life at school would become more of a mess than it already was.

_People are such fucking vultures! _

Angry suddenly, Zoro stomped towards the shower to cleanse himself, his calm that he fought for completely gone a moment after finishing his exercises.

Now drying off, Zoro glared at the stupid pile of newspapers by the door, then without warning a knock alerted him of a visitor. In his towel he made his way to the door and opened it, not really knowing who to expect.

Two people stood before him. He was quite happy to see Ace, his best friend but the other visitor concerned him. The pink haired girl Perona, whom he may or may not have slept with at that party so long ago. He couldn't remember.

Smiling at his friend he ushered the pair in before questioning their presence.

"Hi Zoro, it's been a while" Perona said in what she probably thought was her most sexy husky voice.

He nodded in acknowledgement and ushered for them to sit on the floor as he took a seat across from them. He had nothing in the house to offer food or drink wise so instead chose not to mention it.

"Why are you guys here?" He finally asked. You could cut the tension in the room with a knife.

"I am here because I wanted to see you, it's been a long time. I have work for you from school but I doubt you'll do it" Ace said with a chuckle.

It had indeed been a long time since Zoro saw his bestfriend, and he felt a little bad about it. He had neglected him whilst he wallowed in his own worries and self pity.

"Why she tagged along though, I'm not so sure…" Ace added looking uncomfortable.

Zoro looked at her and immediately knew that she was just here to start trouble. Probably annoyed with him snubbing her in one way or the other. I mean he did end up with Hancock, the most beautiful women he had ever met and the rival to any woman. Not that Hancock wanted that. He narrowed his eyes at Perona. He was not in the mood for this at all.

"I just wanted to see your apartment, that's all" She said with a pout as if Zoro was cruel for ever doubting her intentions.

"You never take girls back here! And I wanted to feel special"

She added making Zoro physically burst out loud in laughter. It was true but Hancock had wiggled her way into staying at his place before. He didn't realize how much that woman had had an effect on him until it was too late to turn back and hate her again.

"Ugh… I think Hancock has stayed her" Ace said quietly "I mean she did turn up to school in your clothing"

Perona's face went red hot and she looked away in shame. Her plan was failing.

It was a bit weird that she assumed just because Hancock wasn't around, that Zoro was the type to just move on. It is true he never really dated properly, because he didn't want to and that he had numerous flings in the past, but that changed the second he decided to be committed. He was a good guy, why did no one ever believe he was?

Suddenly remembering, he never actually did sleep with this woman!

Then without warning his cellphone started to ring. Zoro looked down at it and noticed the number.

"It's the hospital" He whispered looking panicked at Ace.


End file.
